


...If the Seas Catch Fire

by CharWright5



Series: HaiKitsune AU [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Volleyball, Alternate Universe - Supernatural, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Animal Characteristics, Emotionally constipated boys falling in love, Established Atsumu/ Hinata, Established Bokuto/ Akaashi, Established Iwaizumi/ Oikawa, Established Kuroo/ Daichi, Established Tanaka/ Kiyoko, Established Ushijima/ Suga, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Found Family, Hauntings, Kageyama Tobio Swears a Lot, Kitsunes, Knotting, Long Distance Relationship, M/M, Magic, Miya Osamu Swears a Lot, Nightmares, PTSD, Past Daishou/ Mika, Pining, References To Past Murders, References to Past Sexual Assault, Reversible Couple, Superstitions, Urban Fantasy, other background pairings, references to past suicide, small town aesthetic, soul mates, versatile couple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:54:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29197188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharWright5/pseuds/CharWright5
Summary: Miyas fall hard…It was a cliche Miya Osamu had heard his entire life, one that he never really believed applied to him. But all that changed with a single glance and he realized he had more in common with his idiotic mooning brother than previously thought. Only now, the object of his deepening affections had moved away and his brother was starting his happily ever after and Osamu was starting to think maybe he was the cursed twin, doomed to be alone.Kageyama Tobio had spent the past six years of his life keeping people at arm’s length as he moved from place to place. Until, of course, he stayed in Sendai for too long and met Osamu, a man who Tobio found himself connecting to. But the revelation that his sister was actually still alive had him running once more, leaving the potential of what had been blossoming between them and bringing him face to face with another ghost.Cities apart and the two Kitsunes are both trying to figure out if history is always doomed to be repeated, if curses are as real as the Powers they both have, and if settling down with someone is as bad as they initially thought.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu, Kageyama Miwa/ Yamaka Mika, Kageyama Tobio/Miya Osamu
Series: HaiKitsune AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053512
Comments: 36
Kudos: 70





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> **This fic is a sequel, meaning you need to read _...And the Water Caught Fire_ first in order for this one to make sense.**
> 
> Hello!
> 
> So partway through writing _...ATWCF_ , I realized that in order to truly tell Osamu and Tobio’s story and not cheat them out of anything and have it be realistic (as realistic as a story about magical foxes _can_ be anyway), there was no way they’d reach their resolution and start a happy ever after in that fic. They’d need their own fully fleshed out fic where they were the main focus. At the time, my original guesstimation was 50k words, 75k max.
> 
> I was incredibly wrong.
> 
> I underestimated both my wordiness and the story itself, which became clearer and clearer the more I began to unravel the pasts of these characters and really dove into writing. Because this was no longer just about Osamu and Tobio coming together, but both of them dealing with their pasts and what was holding them apart in the first place, as well as the traumas inflicted by the events of the previous story and continuing on with things left unsaid between Atsumu and Shoyo. Meaning that while this fic is mainly about Osamu and Tobio, there will also be underlying stories of Atsumu and Shoyo, as well as Miwa and Mika, not to mention cameos and scenes from the POVs of other characters, a lot like how _...ATWCF_ was.
> 
> This is probably one of the most, if not _the_ most, ambitious stories I’ve ever written in terms of both content and also the countless storylines weaved into it, trying to have it all be cohesive and make sense and not like I just shoved things in there for drama’s sake. This fic will get heavy at times, but I will try my best to put specific warnings in the chapter notes before each one begins.
> 
> Oh! And quick note: I know that Sendai is not a small town and has a rather large-ish population, but for the sake of my story and the aesthetic I was going for, I’m exercising artistic license and turning it into a small town. Also, there will be no other supernatural or legendary creatures in this story, only Kitsunes. If you wanna imagine werewolves in Europe or skinwalkers in the States, that’s fine. But they will not appear in this story or any of the subsequent sequels or prequels.
> 
> Like _...ATWCF_ , I will be updating roughly every five days, with exceptions for fan event weeks and the like where I will post on specified days to take advantage of free promo ;) This is a double posting of the prologue and chapter one, so chapter two will be up on February 25th. The entire first draft is done but I will be editing and adding on as I go and things get posted.
> 
> Spotify playlist for this fic here.
> 
> Pinterest board for the entire series [here](https://pin.it/3GPZTwg).
> 
> Please tell me what you think either through comment, or by tweeting at me (@RitchMapp) or using the hashtag #SeasCatchFireFic.

### PROLOGUE

_“I am an ocean on fire  
the flames burning from within  
and embers resting upon  
my foam and my sand  
the strength of my waves  
with the fire’s intensity fluctuates  
my tide burning hot moves  
with the alteration of sun and moon  
some days are fantastically fine  
others are as salty as my water’s brine  
but someday, when something  
extinguishes my fire,  
I will always be as calm  
as one upon a funeral pyre.”_

~Alaina Dennison

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

A lot of people believe that magic is something that only exists in the fictional sense. It’s the tales read to children to put them to sleep, the books topping the best-sellers lists, the movies playing at the theaters. It’s a performer standing on a stage pulling a rabbit from a hat as though miraculously grabbing them from another dimension or asking someone if this was the card they’d picked from the deck. It’s the term used to describe otherwise indescribable phenomena, the Northern Lights in Iceland or the Blood Rain in India or the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.

Humans think it’s all for fun and isn’t real. Stories and lies and make-believe. A figment of their collective imaginations.

Kitsunes know better.

For Kitsunes, it’s a way of life, it’s something to learn and hone and use. It’s a gift from Inari to thank them for their assistance and the service of their ancestors. It’s the Powers they all have, speed and hearing and healing and the ability to control various elements.

But with the reality of magic, comes the reality of curses. At least that’s what some believe. There couldn’t be a positive end of the spectrum without the negative. Light can’t exist without dark. Good can’t exist without evil.

It might’ve been a curse. It might’ve been bad luck. It might’ve been nothing but a bunch of coincidences or the effects of decisions made over a lifetime, and the lifetimes that came before. After all, those who didn’t learn from the past were doomed to repeat it.

And _that_ felt like the biggest curse of them all.


	2. Chapter One

### CHAPTER ONE

_Kitsune no Yomeiri_ was more or less an idiomatic expression used for a certain weather phenomenon where the skies were cast in a bright golden hue while the rain poured down from above. Legends said that it was to accompany a Kitsune along their wedding procession, that their trickery was what caused the dueling effect of clear skies and falling rain.

No human knew that the stories actually were born of reality, or that _Kitsune no Yomeiri_ came from more than just happy occasions or a _Kawa_ type's Powers.

Outside the sky was bright and sunny, birds tweeting happily despite the misty rain that fell and the humidity clogging the air, threatening to frizz up the hair she'd spent so long styling. Inside, the building was cold and dimly lit, the cement block walls and stainless steel furniture sterile and uninviting. Still, she ignored the way the click of her stilettos echoed in the long hallway as she anxiously tapped her heels, ignored the feeling of two pairs of eyes boring into her as the _Shugoshas_ guarding her continued to assess her. She'd already been subjected to their companion's interrogations, her private life dissected, personal details she'd told no one splayed for all to see and judge.

She was exhausted.

She was ill equipped for this.

Yet she soldiered on, despite the accusatory tones that had started friendly then became apologetic, despite having initially been brought in to identify the body of someone who still had her listed as sole emergency contact.

Daishou Suguru.

Once upon a time, she'd loved him and he'd loved her back with a ferocity that felt all encompassing. But then his love morphed to obsession and was eclipsed by a dark greed for something else, a self-righteous anger aimed at his former Clan Leader for choosing love over duty, abandoning them for a female then insulting Daishou by giving up his Power yet not gifting his successor for it--in Daishou’s mind, the rightful duty of a former Leader.

Hinata Kaseya hadn't been a fool. He'd seen the same darkness festering inside Daishou that she had, a disease that spread as his anger grew and his obsession shifted to finding that Power.

She'd left him, afraid of what he'd become, of what he'd do in his dark desire to take what he believed was rightfully his.

Now she knew she'd been right in her belief that he'd go too far, hearing about the lives he took and those he threatened.

Her stomach churned and she pressed a hand against it as though that would soothe what ailed her. She couldn't deny feeling guilty, wondering if maybe she'd stayed, she could've reined him in…

Then again, with Daishou, he was too feral to keep on a leash.

And now… now he'd paid the ultimate price for it.

Her mind went back to seeing his body on a stainless steel gurney, sterile cloth covering him up to his pectorals. She'd barely recognized him, his hair singed and half gone, his skin far too pale and eyes far too sunken in, his face distorted and destroyed by the Fox Fire that had taken him out. She'd had to identify him by a set of moles on the side of his neck and the Lichtenberg figure visible on the round of his shoulder, the branch like scar traveling down his back, spreading out a lot like a tree.

A lot like the lightning that had caused it.

She wondered how Kuroo was doing since he'd escaped, the guilt in her stomach churning once more. She'd wanted to reach out to him for years, wanted to make sure he was okay, but felt it wasn't her place, that she didn't deserve to. She was too complicit in things, having stayed by Daishou's side through all he'd done.

She'd heard he'd settled in with Ushijima, joined his Clan. She hoped it was true.

A door opened, making her jolt, and she burst up onto her feet as her earlier interrogator came closer. _Shugosha_ Squad Leader Yaku wasn't all that tall, but carried a fierceness she couldn't deny and he walked with a strength and purpose she found admirable. In his hands was a plain cardboard box and she swallowed hard, knowing what it would contain.

"There's no one else to release him to," Yaku had explained once his questions had run out, shrugging almost helplessly. "We can dispose of him if you wish."

She'd turned down the offer. Despite it all… she still loved Daishou, still loved what they had been and could have been. The side of her neck ached like pain in a phantom limb and she rubbed at it self-consciously as Yaku drew to a stop before her and offered her the box, along with a manila envelope.

It was heavier than she'd expected.

The thought felt silly.

"Sorry for your loss," he said in a way that made it feel like a formality more than actually caring.

She gave him a tight smile and a curt nod. Her chest felt tight and her vision grew wavy as she stared at what she now held, at what remained of her ex.

" _Miiiiikaaaaaa._ "

The voice was a whisper in the wind, in her mind, bringing a chill across the back of her neck, as though phantom fingers traced the skin there.

Her eyes snapped up as she shoved it aside, ignored the voice, standing rigid as she managed to get out a tight "is that all?"

Yaku nodded.

She turned away, her eyes coming across the two guards, one of whom was familiar to her. A sad smile formed on his face out of genuine remorse and she turned away sharply before he dared say anything to her.

Her heels clicked loudly in the hall as she strode out, hair swinging and eyes stinging. The daylight almost hurt and the rain that had been falling was now heavier, doing nothing to temper the thick humidity hanging in the air.

The rain above her disappeared as though an invisible umbrella was suddenly covering her and she let out a shaky sigh as a well known blue Civic pulled up along the sidewalk. The Power shielding her moved with her as she made her way to the passenger side and got in, putting the box between her feet on the floorboard.

The car's interior smelled of a mountain spring and a steady heartbeat helped to calm her own racing one. Another shaky breath and she was able to turn to the driver, taking in her familiar round face and big blue eyes, black hair cut short at her shoulders.

"You okay, Meeks?"

A wet laugh burst out and she shook her head. She most definitely wasn't. And furthermore, she wasn't sure if she had been for a while now.

If anyone understood, it would be the girl behind the wheel.

Nodding, her foot moved from the brake to the gas and she pulled away from the sidewalk. A hand covered hers, gripping tight in comfort and solidarity, and she turned to face out the window even as that haunting voice called her name once again. 

Things were about to change dramatically, that had been the Vision told to them, and this felt like the catalyst that would be setting those changes in motion.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

_~*~one week later~*~_

The scenery rolled by unseen out the window, a change from the past hour and forty-five minutes of the train ride. Kageyama Tobio had specifically paid attention to the landscapes they passed by, watching the trees surrounding Sendai morph into farmland, into rolling hills, into spurts of suburbia, before the density of Tokyo’s metropolitan area. Watching the buildings whizz by out the window had been a welcome distraction to any other thoughts, even though it had led to some pretty strange ideas. He imagined the families in those houses, normal, average. Son comes home from his sports club, daughter gossiping on her phone, Mom cleaning and making meals, Dad at work doing the nine-to-five thing in some office building somewhere.

He’d had that once. Felt like a lifetime ago.

They’d all paid the price for it though.

He wondered if normalcy was even something his kind could possibly have.

Closing his eyes, Tobio leaned his head back against his seat. The train car was only halfway occupied and he’d lucked out by not having anyone next to him, someone he’d be forced to make small talk with, no distractions like books to read or music to listen to. Part of him thought maybe he’d perfected the art of looking unapproachable, but it was probably just the way his face was arranged.

‘Course that didn’t stop certain people from barging into his life anyway.

Then again, he was probably partially at fault for that, too.

He shoved that thought aside, filed it with all the others he considered too dangerous to focus on, the mental box he kept it all in sealed tight and locked up.

Traveling by train to a new city, a new place to live wasn’t anything novel for him by that point, but leaving someone behind _was_ and if he thought any more about who that someone was, his chest would ache too much and he’d start having second thoughts about what he was even doing, why he was running.

Except it wasn’t running this time.

Okay, a little bit of running. But mostly not. The fact that it was allowing him to get away from the person that was… well, maybe not the person himself, but the feelings he elicited in Tobio… they were fucking terrifying. Attachment was something he’d been avoiding for the past six years and he wasn’t about to relent on that.

Maybe…

He breathed out a swear, rubbing at his forehead as his eyes reopened. The train was slowing considerably, the station visible now, and Tobio knew it wouldn’t matter how he felt about that specific person. He still would’ve come to Tokyo anyway, still would’ve left. The only difference was actually saying goodbye to someone, telling someone his plans. Ordinarily he just disappeared.

He wondered absently how many missing person’s reports had been filed on him over the years.

He knew he didn’t care. Not when only one of them mattered and he doubted she actually got the police involved, not with their experiences concerning those in uniform.

The conductor made an announcement through the PA system, informing passengers that they were pulling into Ueno Station, to make sure to gather all belongings, blahblahblah. Tobio rolled his eyes. Everything he owned was in a duffel bag held firm between his feet.

Well, almost, he thought, feeling his disposable phone burning in his pocket. Another thing that was outside his usual routine. He normally ditched them before leaving. This time he couldn’t, all because of one of the phone numbers inside, the one belonging to a man who made him promise to keep re-upping his minutes so they could keep talking.

His chest ached again.

Tobio ignored it, reaching down to snatch up his bag before rising to his feet as the train slowed more and finally stopped with a hiss.

He was the first one out the car, stepping onto the platform and making his way through the throng of people anxious to get on board, anxious to get wherever they needed to go. A scowl formed on his face at the assholes pushing and shoving, standing their ground and not giving way to those departing, the way they should’ve been. The angry pull of his brow helped as people backed away, instincts telling them there was something not quite right about him, that there was a hidden danger and they shouldn’t provoke him.

Good. Because there was and they shouldn’t.

Ascending the stairs that led from the platforms to the station, Tobio found himself at a loss on what to do. For once. Ordinarily he’d just make his way out, find a bite to eat, explore the new town for a while before trying to find some sort of employment to reup funds he’d just depleted. 

Not this time. This time, he had someone to meet.

Glancing around at the crowd of people, all shapes and sizes and in varying levels of urgency to their movements, his eyes came across a man of average height and build, dressed in a black tee with a Punisher-esque skull on it, hands shoved into his baggy jeans. His hair was close cropped and a hard look was on his face that caused people to give him a wide berth as he leaned against the railing, seemingly waiting on someone.

Waiting on Tobio apparently, given the way he stood up from where he’d been slumped the second their eyes met. A grin formed on his face, sharp canines on display, and yep, he was definitely waiting on Tobio.

Still, Tobio glanced around, one hand gripping the duffel straps over his shoulder, the other heating up. Not that he could even use fire against the guy if he wanted or needed. There were too many people around, too many innocents.

He should learn to fist fight or something.

“Ay, Tobio-kun!” the guy bellowed, waving his arm wildly, drawing judgmental stares from some of the folks passing by. 

Tobio felt his hackles raise, felt his body go ridged as he struggled between fight or flight, as he forced himself out of the third option of freeze…

The man was now approaching him, still smiling, a strangely affable air around him despite looking like a delinquent. Tobio’s thighs tensed up, ready to go, ready to run at a second’s notice…

“Man, you look just like your sister,” he commented.

Tobio froze further, heart stopping in his chest.

The man held his hands up in supplication as he drew to a stop a meter away. “Sorry, man. Thought Miwa told ya she got held up and I’d be getting ya.” He dropped one hand to his side as the other slapped against his own chest and he just barely inclined his head in greeting. “Shimizu Ryuunosuke. Call me Ryu. I’m the Mate of your sister’s Clan Leader.” His eyes flashed the bright crimson of a _Yama_ type, reminding Tobio of the molten lava they were able to control.

The family name struck a familiar cord in his head, vaguely recalling his sister mentioning her Clan-mate’s names and types. He was pretty sure there was a Shimizu or two, mentions of her Leader being one of the five Mated pairs in said Clan. 

Tobio’s eyes dropped to the shorter man’s neck and he tilted his head to the side as if he knew, displaying the Bite Mark with a proud beaming grin.

“Yep!” Ryu said a little too loud. “Proud Leader’s Mate right here.”

Something twinged inside Tobio’s chest at that and he knew it wasn’t any sort of jealousy over his position or his Mate’s or who his Mate was in the first place. If he were being completely honest, he had a good feeling he knew the true source of his envy, the real reason why his chest felt hollow. He’d left a vital piece of it back in Sendai.

Fuck, that felt and sounded cheesy and he shoved it all aside, refusing to think about it.

Ryu straightened his head back up then clapped his hands together loudly before rubbing them together. “ _So!_ ” he began, grinning with sharp teeth once more. “Wanna go grab the rest of your stuff?”

Tobio looked at his duffel, gripped the straps a little tighter. “This is it.”

Eyebrows shot up to his buzzed hair, eyes going wide and Tobio found himself trying to figure out if they were gray or blue or some sorta combo. He hoped it wasn’t the former. He had enough of those in his life.

“Seriously? Just the one bag?”

“It’s everything I have.” 

Well, not quite, his mind supplied, thinking of the kitchen full of food he’d left in Sendai and the food loving Kitsune he’d told to just take it all. The apartment didn’t really hold anything for him, except a couple decent memories of make outs in said kitchen. He’d long since given up forming any attachments to any place in particular.

Ryu’s lips twisted, hands on his hips as he frowned in disapproval. “We’re gonna hafta change that shit,” he announced, nodding in determination. “I’m seeing it as my duty as your new _senpai_.”

Tobio’s brows lifted momentarily. He hadn’t really had a _senpai_ since middle school and this man he’d literally just met was volunteering for the job. A couple weeks ago, he would’ve scoffed and rolled his eyes and walked away. But so much had changed in his life, so much was continuing to change so…

Fuck it. Why not just let the guy call himself that? What was the harm?

So Tobio shrugged, not agreeing or arguing, just going with the flow.

And apparently it was the right thing to do, Ryu grinning wide before moving so he could throw a shoulder over Tobio’s shoulders, despite being shorter. “Alright, man! Let’s get you home, huh?”

His chest twinged again and Tobio didn’t bother pointing out that in recent times, “home” for him was comprised of stormy gray eyes, tan skin, and the smell of sea salt. Instead, he put on an awkward half-smile and nodded, figuring it was another thing that was just easier to go along with rather than pointing out the mistake.

And like before, Ryu grinned wide and half-hauled him towards the exit, the crowd parting around them as they went. All the while, Tobio felt something inside that screamed he was going the wrong way, something he ignored for the sake of his own sanity.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Growing up, Miya Osamu was used to sharing shit. Downside of being a twin, downside of being born to parents who never really wanted kids in the first place and were ill-equipped, downside of suddenly being thrust upon a family friend who wasn’t prepared to suddenly be a father but adjusted a whole lot better than those who'd had a hand in creating him. He and Atsumu shared everything because a lot of times, there was only one available. Same birthday, same room, same bed, same haircut. It had been a small blessing to wind up with different elemental Powers, to have _something_ that differentiated them--other than dyeing their hair different colors.

Being asked to join Ushijima’s Clan had felt like another thing that they'd had to share, not to mention the fact that they were repeatedly clumped together as “The Twins” or “The Terrors”.

At least they got their own rooms.

At least Osamu got to have his space and something that was all his. He got to pick out his own furniture, paint on the walls, decor, whatever he wanted. He got to sprawl out on his own king sized bed and not have to share with anyone ever again.

And as he did just that, as he lay starfished over his mattress… he hated it.

Funny how easily he’d fallen back into the routine of sharing a bed after only a couple nights.

Funny how easily it felt as big as an ocean and how, for once, that brought zero comfort.

Funny how life had a way of giving exactly what he wanted, only to take it back, only to taint everything.

“Shit,” he said to no one, swiping a hand down his face.

Outside his room, signs of life were stirring. Birds were singing outside his window, bugs chirping and buzzing, wind chimes twinkling. Footsteps were sounding upstairs as his Leader Ushijima and his Mate Sugawara Koushi started their day. Elsewhere he was picking up on the sounds of conversations, bribes to get someone out of bed being met with exaggerated snores, a shower starting up. Downstairs…

Shit again.

Turning his head, he caught sight of the time on his alarm clock. He’d missed his jog that morning, not in the mood. Not when his last two weeks worth featured the rhythmic sound of someone else’s footsteps beside his own.

He was gonna have to get used to the solitude all over again.

Funny how that worked, too.

With yet another swear, he dragged himself out of bed, switching his pajama pants for jeans, leaving his tee on. All black, he mentally noted, corner of his lips curling up at the memory of Kageyama constantly calling him out on it, asking if he was hot in it while being in the sticky summer air. Then they’d learned the truth about each other and the questions had stopped, replaced instead by the hotter _Kasai_ Kitsune leaning closer as he tried to subtly keep the cooler _Umi_ warm with just his body heat.

Osamu liked to think Kageyama was actually willingly getting physically closer to him for more reasons than just keeping him warm, but despite any sort of back alley confessions and heat of the moment make-outs… he left.

Not that Osamu blamed him. He knew damn well that if the situation had been reversed and if he’d been the one to find out his presumed dead sibling was alive and well, he’d jet off to wherever they were, too. Which was why he didn’t say jackshit to Kageyama about his wanting to leave, except to wish him luck and tell him to keep his phone full of minutes so they could still talk or text. Part of him had wanted to go with the guy, the Kitsune part that didn’t want them to be apart, the animal that recognized this was more than a crush or attraction or whatever… but Osamu’s more human and therefore more logical part knew this was something Kageyama had to do on his own. He’d just interfere.

So he stayed.

Still… would’ve been nice if Kageyama at least let Osamu take him to the train station like he’d offered. Would’ve been nice to say goodbye to him, even if it was totally fucking cheesy and the type of nauseating bullshit his brother was more prone to pulling.

Speaking of…

With a sigh, Osamu snatched up his phone from his nightstand, unplugging it from the charger. No new messages, no missed calls. Kageyama should’ve been arriving in Tokyo any minute. Osamu had asked him to text when he arrived, but Inari only knew if he’d actually do it.

Yet another swear flew from his lips. Probably should get them all out of his system before he headed downstairs. The profanities wouldn’t be appreciated around their newest resident.

So he muttered a few expletives with each step as he left his room, as he headed down the hall, down the stairs, down the other hall and into the kitchen.

Despite the early hour, the space was already occupied, the sight making his chest ache. Not that he could begrudge his brother his happiness, especially not after recent events. But still, he couldn’t help the aching longing he had for his own piece of this. Atsumu, with his arm around Hinata Shoyo’s waist like it belonged there, Hinata curled up against him as they stood at the stovetop with their backs to Osamu, oblivious to his arrival. The two were laughing, Atsumu’s smile bright, eyes practically sparkling as he peered down at his smaller boyfriend, burying his lips against his fluffy orange hair.

Osamu had to turn away. Their happiness just reminded him of his own loneliness that was increasing now, another dagger in his chest. Instead, his eyes came across Hinata Natsu, the eight year old sister of Shoyo who was now practically everyone’s little sister. Practically the entire Clan had gone on the attack after she’d been taken, all risking their lives to save her from the clutches of an evil greedy asshole who was after something he’d delusionally believed belonged to him. Osamu felt a weird relief that the bruises on her face and neck were gone, even if she had a couple small scabs by her throat where claws had dug in.

He absently wondered how Hinata had explained that one to her teacher, Yachi-sensei.

Natsu looked up where she was digging into what looked like toaster waffles covered in Bokuto’s personally harvested maple syrup and waved wildly at him, big grin on her face despite puffed up cheeks full of sugar. Despite himself, Osamu smiled and waved back. The entire house was weak to that tiny girl.

He purposely scuffed his feet as he made his way over to the coffee maker, relieved to find there was enough in there for a cup and he grabbed his favorite mug from the cabinet above. Atsumu didn’t say anything as he watched, chin propped on his boyfriend’s head as Hinata spread what appeared to be peanut butter over his own waffles. Osamu wondered if his clinging brother was gonna detach himself long enough to eat, but considering what he’d witnessed over the years of the other paired up members of their Clan, that didn’t seem likely.

Not to mention the time Atsumu had spent mooning over Hinata. Now that they were finally together, Atsumu was probably gonna be very clingy and honeymooning for an obnoxiously long time.

Fuck.

Osamu focused on pouring coffee into his mug, the heat making the image on the outside change, revealing various undersea creatures beneath blue waves. There were too many fucking couples in this house, too many people reminding him of what he didn’t have, what he could’ve possibly had if shit had been different. If _they_ had been different. If Kageyama wasn’t keeping people at arm’s length and Osamu wasn’t so Inari damned terrified of commitment, of turning into his father…

Yeah. He was shoving that shit back into the box it had popped out of, refusing to play Pandora and letting that shit loose.

“ _Ohhh_ ,” Atsumu elongated the word and Osamu turned to find his brother already staring at him with a look of recognition on his face.

Shit. Osamu hated when the guy got like that, all haughty because he figured shit out.

His boyfriend apparently was lost though, confusion pulling his brow together above big brown eyes as he glanced back and forth between the twins. “What? What happened?”

“It was today.”

“ _Ohhh_.”

Osamu grimaced as he turned away, returning the carafe back to the coffee maker. Suddenly he wasn’t thirsty. Wasn’t hungry either.

He spun on his heel and headed out the kitchen, leaving his mug behind.

A breathed out g-rated swear came from Atsumu, reminding Osamu of just how much the guy had changed and in such a short amount of time. He went from being a reckless idiot to… well, still a reckless idiot, but now one who was partially responsible for another life, a step-parent of sorts to Natsu. And while Osamu had the bigger potty mouth of the two, Atsumu had never shied away from letting expletives fly. To hear him censor himself…

Osamu was halfway into the spacious living area by the time his brother caught up, grabbing hold of his arm and forcing him to stop. A glare formed on Osamu’s face as he rounded on the jackass, catching sight of his worried expression, brow pulled over his own brown eyes.

Shit. Not what Osamu wanted to deal with.

“I’m fi--”

“You’re a fuckin’ liar.”

Okay, the dumbass had a point, but Osamu really wasn’t in the fucking mood.

His eyes cut away, peered through the glass back wall of the house, outside to the lush greenery and bursts of colors that comprised Bokuto’s prized back garden.

“I’m just as stubborn as you,” Atsumu reminded, squeezing Osamu’s arm for emphasis.

Osamu ground his jaw and glared harder. This absolute asshole…

He twisted his arm out of his brother’s grip and punched him in the shoulder.

Atsumu punched him back.

Osamu pulled his fist back to lay another one on him but instead wound up in a headlock. A sleepless night had him tiring out already and he didn’t bother fighting the hold, instead just sagging and forcing Atsumu to hold up his dead weight.

“He hasn’t text yet, huh?”

Oh fuck this motherfucker and his fucking way of getting in Osamu’s fucking head.

“I know you don’t really talk about this shit and I know you’re scared of becoming you know who,” Atsumu began and Osamu clenched his eyes shut, hating how fucking _seen_ he was. “But whenever ya wanna get your head outcha ass and actually _talk_ \--” he trailed off.

The thought didn’t need to be finished.

It didn’t really need to be said in the first place.

Osamu glared. “Thanks.”

Atsumu dug his fist into the top of his head then let him go. “Sure.” Stepping away, he fixed his shirt. “I’m gonna drive Natsu to school and Shoyo to work. You can come with, take your mind off-a shit?”

Osamu fixed his own tee, fussed over his hair. Shook his head. Last thing he needed was to be a hanger-on for someone else’s strange family unit, even if he himself was included in all that. If Hinata was a father of sorts to Natsu and Atsumu a strange sorta step-dad, then Osamu was probably an uncle or something. But no matter the case, he wasn’t a part of the core. And in all honesty, watching his brother fawn over his Mate, watching the two of them being happy and together… it wasn’t anything Osamu could handle at the moment.

And Atsumu got that, understanding written on his ugly mug as he slowly nodded once. “Alright, man. I’m taking the CRV so if you need the Corolla--” he let that statement hang, too.

The idea was tempting and Osamu just nodded absently, wanting the conversation finished more than anything. He felt adrift and landlocked all at once. Maybe soaking in the ocean for a while would help.

He tried not to imagine anyone floating in the sea with him and failed.

Atsumu ruffled his hair in a supportive, commiserating way and Osamu no longer had the energy to glare. Instead, he stood frozen and lifeless as his brother padded his way back to the kitchen, only to stop at the door.

“Oh, and make sure ya eat somethin’. It’s fucking weird when ya don’t. You’re freaking me out.”

And suddenly he had the energy to fucking hurl a throw pillow the asshole’s way.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

"Is Osamu gonna be okay?"

Atsumu glanced to his left, at his beautiful Mate sitting in the passenger seat as he drove the mid-sized SUV towards Ukai's _conbini_ after having dropped Natsu off at school. His heart swelled with affection inside his chest, still unable to believe his luck. He'd pined over Shoyo for months, had convinced himself it would never happen between them, only for that shit to change real fast. In between the emergence of Shoyo's Kitsune Powers, threats coming from another Clan, and the revelation behind his parents' deaths, Shoyo had admitted to his own crush, then eventually came the exchange of those three little words as the two of them got together. 

And now Shoyo and his sister had both officially moved in with Atsumu and the Clan and driving them around town was part of their daily routine. Granted Atsumu still moped about during the day, but it was mainly because he was lonely and bored while Shoyo was at work.

He needed to find a hobby. If for no other reason than to get his Clan-mates to stop making fun of him. Ordinarily Osamu would be leading said insults but considering he was doing his own fair amount of mooning lately…

A sigh escaped Atsumu as he thought of his twin. Osamu's skin had been too pale and the bags under his eyes had been too dark and the fact that he actually skipped a meal was telling in and of itself. The guy loved food too much to pass it up like that. Even when sick, he was shoveling shit into his face.

Maybe he _was_ sick.

Lovesick, he thought cheesily enough.

"He will be," Atsumu answered, not sure if it was a statement of fact or hope. "It'll probably take some time though."

Shoyo hummed, lips twisting adorably in thought, and Atsumu had to remind himself to keep his eye on the road, to not lean over and kiss his fluffy hair the way he was so fond of doing. He settled for reaching over and twining their fingers together.

"It's weird though," Shoyo commented, brow pulled in a puzzled expression. "I mean, of all people. _Kageyama_? Seriously?"

Atsumu let out a small chuckle and shrugged a shoulder as the corner of his lips pulled up in a lopsided smile. "Yeah, well. The heart wants what it wants. Ya can't help who--"

He cut himself off.

He'd almost mentioned the M-word.

It was definitely a conversation they needed to have at some point, what a Mate was, what it entailed, the difference between that and the less serious human version of "soul mates". Not to mention the fact that Atsumu had the feeling the term best defined himself and Shoyo. Atsumu needed to make him aware so he could figure out how he felt about it, so they could both plan their long future together.

Driving to a _conbini_ didn't quite feel like the right time to have that convo though.

Then again, no time felt like the right time.

Definitely not then though. Hell no.

"'Tsum?"

Atsumu snapped out of it, turned to find Shoyo staring at him curiously. He plastered a smile on his face and let out a small laugh.

"Sorry. Spaced out," he lied easily, hating how Shoyo bought it with a nod. "Was just saying that ya can't help who ya fall for, and like I told ya before, us Miyas fall--"

"Fall hard," Shoyo finished for him, grin on his face before he leaned over and kissed Atsumu's shoulder. 

"Exactly," Atsumu grinned right back, more genuine this time. "Osamu always thought that wouldn't be him, tried to avoid becoming our dad, so he's dealing with the fact that he was wrong, along with Kageyama leaving."

Shoyo let out a low whistle. "Well, whatever he needs from us, he can have, until stupid dumbass Bakageyama comes back."

Atsumu's smile grew as his chest felt warm and fuzzy. Shoyo so readily accepting not just the entire crazy, eclectic Clan but also Atsumu's bastard ass twin, treating him like his own brother… yeah, made Atsumu feel fuzzy, believe further that this was his Mate, the person he was meant to be with.

He kissed the back of Shoyo's hand. "Holy shit, I love you, Sho."

Shoyo laughed, musical and bright. "Holy shit, I love you, too, 'Tsum."

Pulling over in front of the _conbini_ , Atsumu put the SUV in park before leaning over the console to kiss his Mate's smiling face.

Osamu's situation wasn't gonna be resolved any time soon and Atsumu knew he'd be worrying over it himself for the next however many nights until his brother was okay again. But for the moment, with Shoyo's lips pressed to his own, life felt pretty damn good.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

The sounds of suburbia were all the same, regardless of what town Tobio lived in. Kids screaming as they played, dogs barking, birds chirping, sprinklers making that thwick-thwick-thwick noise, a mower or three droning. It was a far cry from the actual places where he'd stayed of course, with couples yelling at each other, police sirens, fists slamming either against actual people or from too loud TVs, sex that was borderline noncon and sometimes paid for. His shitbox in Sendai didn't have the sirens but the rest were frequent soundtracks he'd try to drown out with the phony ocean tides from his white noise machine.

His pull towards those sounds in particular suddenly made sense.

As Ryu drove his pick-up through the suburban streets of Tokyo, Tobio stared out the windows, watching as scenes from his own childhood passed by. Although instead of soccer or basketball or jump rope, he'd been bumping volleyballs back and forth with his sister or friends, practicing his setting or his serves.

It felt like centuries ago and he suddenly felt way older than his twenty-two years. 

Ryu turned down a street marked " _Private Lane_ " that ended in woods barely twenty meters in and Tobio's heart stilled in his chest as flashbacks hit him. A concerned look was shot his way and Ryu reached over to clap him on the shoulder.

"Relax, man. It's just an Illusion," he assured with a grin right as the truck broke the phony tree line.

Tobio didn't bother pointing out that he'd figured it out for himself, that he'd gone through something similar on his way to help rescue an eight year old girl from the clutches of a sadistic bastard who'd also threatened him and his sister. He didn't point out how the sensation of passing through the Illusion's borders brought back memories of a limb bigger than him knocking him back and down, causing his crush to go feral and half-shift, of holding back the same man as he wailed and fought to get to his dead brother, how he'd watched the legendary Ushijima Wakatoshi produce Fox Fire and use it to incinerate Daishou Suguru before the man leapt out the window to his own death.

He still hadn't processed all that shit himself, wondering if he was using this trip, this potential move as a way to escape having to deal with it all.

Instead he just nodded, features flat, and locked all that shit away once more.

The copse of trees only lasted a dozen meters or so, just enough to provide coverage and block outsiders, before they parted to reveal a massive rolling green lawn that looked like it’d been swiped from a fancy ass country club golf course. The driveway looked recently paved, although he had a feeling it hadn’t been, smooth under the pick-up’s wheels as it drove between rows of bright flowers that flourished despite the oppressive heat of mid-summer. 

In the distance, Tobio noted how the driveway split off, one to a separate building the size of a house with four wide garage doors across the front, the road continuing around and past it, too. The left fork headed to a giant mansion that perfectly blended traditional with modern. Two and a half stories with pagoda style roofs in dark gray tile, a lighter gray comprising the walls, countless windows with horizontal slats. The driveway curved around a miniature garden of gravel and bonsai trees that Ryu followed, parking in front of a large cement porch. Through the glass front doors, Tobio could see light wood flooring, open spaces, and the glass patio doors at the back that gave a view of the _engawa_ veranda out back, followed by more of that green, green grass. And up top, he spied the top of a chimney, leading him to believe there was at least one fireplace inside, a thought that brought him a strange comfort.

Putting the truck in park, Ryu cut the engine off before excitedly clicking his seat belt off. Tobio did the same with more caution, more apprehension, hearing the sounds of footsteps and rapid heartbeats coming from all over.

Damn, he wished he could remember how many people his sister had said lived here.

Opening the door, he inhaled the scent of freshly cut grass and summery wildflowers, of woodsmoke and timber. The glass doors opened and a tall willowy figure stepped outside, smiling softly from beneath rounded glasses. Her black hair was cut in stylish layers down past her shoulders and on her body was a fitted skirt and sensible sleeveless blouse and Tobio caught sight of a Bite Mark on the left side of her neck.

Ryu’s heart began pounding wildly as he rushed around the front of the truck and Tobio figured this must’ve been his Mate.

“Hello, Tobio,” she greeted him, gesturing to the house even as Ryu grabbed her around the waist and swung her around. She giggled as she was placed back on her feet, rubbing Ryu’s buzzed hair as he nuzzled into the crook of her neck. “As you can probably tell, I’m Shimizu Kiyoko. Welcome to our home.”

More heartbeats sounded out, more footsteps, a small engine of some sorts coming closer from somewhere around the back of the house. He watched as two of the girls from the photo Daishou had shown him appeared from behind Kiyoko, one tall with voluminous silver blonde hair, the other short with her bleached hair cut at her jaw. A man yelled out a “ _Tanakaaaaaa!_ ” in the distance, a window opened as someone popped their head out, but Tobio’s ears focused in on the footsteps thundering down the stairs inside the house.

He braced himself by the pick-up, his heart now pounding wilder than before, beating against his ribcage like it could jump out and race to that person, too. The Kistunes on the porch all stepped out the way of the door as…

As Miwa turned the corner and drew to a surprised halt.

Holy. Shit.

_Miwa_.

A lump formed in his throat, his heart now threatening to escape that way. He inhaled sharply and the air got caught in his lungs as they stopped working. As everything stopped working.

Because it was his _sister_ and she was _alive_ and he could _see her_ and in person, not some shitty stalker photo. He could hear her heart beating rabbit fast, could see her lower lip tremble, could hear her sniff, could see her eyes shine.

Until his own vision grew blurry, of course, tears stinging and skin prickling as everything grew to be too much.

“Tobio,” she breathed out, followed by a burst of disbelieving laughter. “Holy shit, it’s really you.”

His lips wavered, trying to smile, too overwhelmed. “Hey, sis,” he croaked, hand raising in a weak wave.

In a burst of speed, Miwa rushed him, wrapped her arms around him as she crashed into him. And _oh fuck_ , his fucking sister was hugging him and when did she get shorter than him, but it didn’t matter because it was _Miwa_ and she was _alive_ and she still smelled exactly the same as in his memories.

One arm wrapped around her, the other clutched her head as he buried his face in her short hair. And for the first time in a long time, he let himself cry over her.


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all the excitement expressed in comments! I'm so thankful and relieved that everyone is stoked on this story and looking forward to it so much!
> 
> Next chapter coming Monday March 1st as part of OsaKage Week (ElmoFire.gif)
> 
> Please let me know what you think of this chapter either through comments or on twitter (@RitchMapp) using the hashtag #SeasCatchFireFic.

### CHAPTER TWO

"You gonna be like this all day?"

Laying on the couch with his head on the arm rest, Osamu opened his eyes to find Kuroo towering over him, leaning over with an inquisitive tilt to his brow. He had no idea how long he'd been laying there, just that it must've been a while. Atsumu, Shoyo, and Natsu had left some time ago, Suga and Akaashi a little while later, then Ushijima, and finally Daichi and Iwaizumi. He was vaguely aware of Oikawa fluttering about doing Inari knew what and Bokuto singing loud and off-key outside, but other than that…

Other than that, he'd been hyperfocused on where his phone lay on his chest. Hadn't buzzed once.

Still no messages.

He reached a hand up to swipe down his face as a familiar voice let out a blunt "yep!" Both Osamu and Kuroo turned to look at Kenma, curled up on an armchair, dressed in flannel pajama pants and that oversized hoodie with the rhinestone tiger on it that reminded Osamu of those tacky Ed Hardy shirts that had been popular a while back.

That, or the blond Yuri from _Yuri on Ice_ , but he dared not make either comparisons.

Raising his eyes from his Switch, Kenma looked at them both in turn then shrugged a shoulder. "Not a Vision. Just obvious."

Osamu glared.

Kuroo let out a flat "huh" that said Kenma's explanation made sense.

Osamu glared harder.

"He hasn't text ya, huh?"

Osamu sat up, catching his phone when gravity tried to steal it, swinging his legs around to plant his feet on the floor. No, Kageyama hadn't text and Osamu was growing increasingly worried and anxious and upset, which in turn made him grow increasingly pissed because that wasn't fucking him. Atsumu was supposed to be the mooning neurotic asshole. Osamu was supposed to be the cool aloof one.

Shit.

Elbows on his knees, he dug the heels of his palms into his eyes, trying to wish himself away, trying to scramble his brain back to its original form.

Didn't work of course. Which fucking sucked. Worth a shot though. Maybe.

A heavy sigh was released, followed by Kuroo slumping down next to him to thump his long skinny hand on Osamu's back, like he was spiking a volleyball.

Which… not a sport he wanted to think of.

"Gotta say, surprised you're moping here and not at the beach."

Osamu snorted. He'd thought about it, then thought about how little sleep he'd gotten and what a bad idea it would be to drive. Then he thought about the last time he'd gone to the beach, with Kageyama, pushing him up against the rock outcropping and making out with him until Osamu was sure he was gonna come in his pants.

Yeah. He was gonna hafta avoid that place for a while.

The air vibrated and suddenly a weight pressed in on his right, Oikawa draping himself over Osamu's side and back. "Aww, did I hear that our li'l Sammie-chan is lovesick?"

Osamu popped his head up. "Who the _fuck_ is 'Sammie-chan'?" he demanded with as much disgust as he was capable of.

"Your nicknames are truly fucking awful, Tourist," Kuroo backed him up.

"Oh no, that annoying squeak is back!"

Kenma sighed a long, loud sigh of someone who had suffered far too much in their life.

Osamu did the same.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Oikawa began, like he wasn’t the one causing the disruption in the first place. “If you feel like doing some stress cooking as you are prone to do, I’m in the mood for crepes.”

“You literally just had breakfast,” Kuroo pointed out.

“I really have _got_ to get this tinnitus checked out.” Oikawa stuck a finger in his left ear and wiggled it about.

“Would explain why you can’t hear how annoying your voice is.”

“Kenma, do you hear that? So grating.”

Osamu burst onto his feet, throwing Oikawa off, causing the heartbeats of those in the room to skip in surprise. Without a word, he headed left, towards the door.

“Crepe time?” Oikawa called out hopefully.

Osamu threw a middle finger over his shoulder and headed straight out the door. It wasn’t until he stepped onto the scorching concrete of the front sidewalk that he realized he was completely bare foot, but there was no way in hell he was going back inside, not when those guys were still loitering about. 

He managed to locate a pair of flip flops in the trunk of the sedan, along with spare towels, a couple pairs of swim trunks, a boogie board buried under all of it with sand sprinkled everywhere. He slipped them on before getting behind the wheel, no real destination in mind except away from the house, away from prying Clan-mates, and away from the mundane bullshit of his life.

Kinda made the guy miss being dragged by his annoying ass twin to a _conbini_ to pine over the cashier. At least that broke up the monotony of his day. Now _he_ was the one pining, the one acting pathetic. And it didn’t seem like that was gonna change any time soon.

Unfortunately.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

He had gotten taller. It was the first thing Miwa noticed about her no longer baby brother. The last time she’d seen him, he was around her height, lanky, awkward as he grew into his new limbs. Now, he was taller, almost towering over her as she buried her head in his chest and clutched on to him.

His clothes reeked of nicotine and cigarettes, the fabric soft and worn, but underneath it all, he still held that familiar woodsmoke scent that had made him unique in their family.

She quickly shoved that particular thought aside, focused instead on just how damn good it felt to be able to actually smell it again.

For _years_ , she had tried to find a trace of him, had tried to find out where he’d gone. She’d known he hadn’t died with their parents, that he’d survived, but was hiding out. Not that she could blame him, but she wished like hell he’d find her, too, that he’d leave _some_ trace of himself that he could find. But nothing. With each passing year, her hopes sank further, until she grew convinced that he’d died anyway, was a random unknown John Doe discovered at the side of the road or murdered in some alley. Another teen runaway who couldn’t survive the streets.

Then she’d gotten that call on a seemingly uneventful Tuesday, a call she’d thought would be the beauty salon she’d just applied to, only it turned out to be more life-changing than that.

She sniffed, loud and wet. Tobio was awkward in his hugs now and her heart broke all over for him. She’d gotten lucky, she knew she had. She’d stumbled upon this amazing Clan who had offered a temporary home that soon became permanent, had offered to help her in her search. Tobio had been through Inari knew what over the years, her mind racing with possibilities, most of which she refused to acknowledge. They hadn’t spoken about it, just that he’d last been in Sendai and was “okay”, whatever that meant.

Lifting her head, Miwa took in her brother, that familiar face that had sharpened as he’d aged, but still held the same features as her. Same pointed chin, same slender nose, same wide eyes. Only now his skin was paler and there were heavy bags under his eyes and those blue orbs held a sort of weight that only came from bad experiences.

Not that she could blame him on that either.

She cupped his face in both hands, sniffed, inspected him through watery eyes. “Oh, Tobes,” she said softly, feeling the barely healed cracks in her heart start to fracture again.

The corner of his lips curled up in what was supposed to be a reassuring smile but instead came across as disingenuous. She wasn’t sure if her Clan-mates would pick up on that, but it was completely obvious to her. He’d been through a lot, was probably still going through a lot. And knowing him, he was gonna bottle it up and keep it to himself. He’d always been that way.

“I’m fi--”

“Don’t,” she interrupted harshly, finger pointed in his face as she gave him a hard look. Six years may have passed by, but she was still his big sister, Inari damn it, and she was gonna make sure he didn’t lie. “You don’t have to talk about it, but don’t give me any of that bullshit.”

Tobio’s eyes widened briefly before the lids lowered into a more chastised place. This time, when the corner of his lips curled, it was more real, more genuine. “Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled right back then reached up to ruffle his hair and how weird was it that she had to reach up to do that now? “Good boy.”

Now he glared.

Miwa laughed. Then sniffed. Then pulled back to take his hand. “Wanna meet everyone?”

Tobio raised his eyes to look around, eyes widening in surprise again as he took in what was sure to be the whole Clan. Miwa turned around to see for herself and yep, sure enough, everyone had made their way out of the woodwork to see him, all curious.

But one person in particular caught her attention, the way she always did. Her auburn hair hung down past her shoulders, bangs blunt above her eyebrows, brown eyes assessing the new arrival. It was rare for Yamaka Mika to leave her room these days, another thing Miwa couldn’t blame anyone for. She hadn’t been the same since she’d heard about Daishou’s death, the light gone from her eyes and the smile having left her face. Miwa didn’t know the details of things, just that their relationship hadn’t ended all that great. But that hadn’t put a damper on her feelings for the man or their connection.

It was hard to sever that kind of thing.

Miwa felt her chest get tight at the sight of Mika, at the way she had wrapped her arms so tightly around herself, like she was trying to physically hold herself together.

Without saying a word, Mika turned and headed back inside, back to her room. Miwa’s heart plummeted to her stomach, eyes stinging for whole new reasons. Part of her longed to go after the other girl, to comfort her, to be there for her as she had on so many other nights. But…

But she had her brother. She had Tobio and his own rabbit fast heart as he met all the stares. She had her previously presumed dead brother back in her life and she had to make sure she’d never lose him again.

She just hoped it didn’t somehow cost her Mika in return.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Shoyo clocked in then put on his burgundy apron over his white tee and khaki jeans, wrapping the long straps around his waist to tie it at the front of his slim waist. Back out in the main part of the store, he wasn’t surprised to find Atsumu loitering, checking out the snack aisle, while Tsukki stocked the onigiri and Ukai-san set up the register with starter cash from the safe. Shoyo tried to suppress a grin at the sight of his boyfriend, wondering if he was just pretending to browse so he’d have an excuse to hang around or if he was trying to replenish his hidden snack reserve in his bedroom.

One that Shoyo may have stumbled across and helped himself to.

He’d always been weak to the strawberry flavor of Hello Pandas.

Sidling up to his boyfriend, Shoyo found him with an actual basket by his feet, making him laugh for some reason. Atsumu turned to pout, shrugging a shoulder as his ears grew red.

“Yer boss was givin’ me a suspicious look so I figured I oughta pretend like I ain’t hangin’ around just to keep an eye on ya.”

Shoyo hummed in response, figuring it made sense. Atsumu hadn’t been all that thrilled when Shoyo announced he was returning to work when the _conbini_ had reopened after repairs. Not that Shoyo could really blame him for that. After all, Shoyo had been stalked, threatened, and attacked in this very store and he still couldn’t look at certain shelves without shuddering in nauseating fear. It’d taken him a while to get used to the bell jingling above the door, afraid it was Daishou or one of his henchmen coming to get him once more.

But Daishou was dead and his henchmen were all in the Kitsune version of a supermax prison, presumably never to be found again. Shoyo had nothing to be afraid of.

He especially didn’t when Atsumu made a habit of still stopping by on a daily basis, loitering a lot more than before now that the two of them were together and he’d gotten over his nerves about approaching the redhead. ‘Course he made sure to maintain his distance when the _conbini_ was busy, but Shoyo was sure that Atsumu was simply hiding outside somewhere, probably with some Illusion covering him up.

The register clanged shut, loud in Shoyo’s ears and making him jump. His hearing still hadn’t quite settled yet, prone to volume fluctuations at random times. Atsumu immediately recognized the reaction, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and holding him close, kissing the top of his head.

“Maybe we should getcha some earplugs until ya get used to the noises?”

Shoyo buried his face in Atsumu’s chest, not sure if it was a joke or not, but seriously contemplating the idea nonetheless. Maybe he could stuff a little toilet paper in there and muffle things for the time being. He could pretend he was having some sorta ear problems until things leveled out.

Footsteps sounded out, heading towards them, and Shoyo woefully pulled away from his boyfriend. He knew, had been chastised for it before, that when on the clock he needed to act more professional, stop being so cuddly with his boyfriend, stop ignoring his responsibilities as an employee. But it was hard to keep that in mind when Atsumu was before him. The man was like a magnet, drawing Shoyo in, and it felt impossible to be in the same room as him without touching him.

“Sorry, Ukai-san,” he apologized as he turned to his boss, bowing his head.

Ukai-san snorted, not angry, more resigned than anything. He wore yet another Hawaiian print shirt, this one white and covered in flamingos, apron on top, khakis shorts and well worn flip flops. His bleached hair was held back with its typical band and he still smelled heavily of cigarettes, most likely having lit up right before opening. His brown eyes cut back and forth between Shoyo and Atsumu, paying more attention to the latter, shrewd eyes narrowed as though searching for something.

“You got a job?”

Atsumu jerked at the gruff tone the manager took, eyes flicking down to Shoyo for a clue how to respond. “Uhh, no? I can get one if this is a hint to stop hangin’ around?”

Ukai-san kept staring before a grin broke out on his face. “How ‘bout you just work here? You’re here often enough, I’m sure you’ve already picked up on shit. I need a couple new hires since Kageyama bailed on me and Tsukishima over there is gonna have to cut back on his hours. I’m sure Hinata here can vouch for you.”

Shoyo was in shock. He gaped at his boss, heart stuttering in his chest and skin buzzing in excitement. A nudge from his boyfriend snapped him out of it and he rapidly nodded his head. “Yeah, yeah, he’s a good guy. Totally dependable. He’s got a twin, too.”

“Well, shit, tell him he’s hired, too, and get his ass here soon as he can.”

“That’s not how this works!” Tsukki yelled from the refrigerated back corner and Shoyo tried his best to glare over the shelves.

“It’s my shop, I’ll say how the fuck it works!” Ukai yelled back before fixing the couple before him with a hard look. “But keep the lovey-dovey shit for off hours. I don’t give a fuck about your sexuality or any of that shit. I just don’t want my place getting trashed again because you two were too busy making goo-goo eyes or some shit. Got it?”

Both nodded their heads rapidly and gave synchronized “Yes, sir”s.

“Good. Now. You buying that shit or just wasting my time?”

Atsumu glanced down to his half-full basket then back up at his new boss. “I’ll buy it, but I ain’t done.”

Ukai cocked an eyebrow then waved a dismissive hand. “All that junk’ll kill ya, but whatever.” With that, he turned and headed away with a flip-flip-flip of his shoes, telling Atsumu to come fill out paperwork when he was finished.

Tsukishima kept muttering about the unfairness of it all and how that “wasn’t how it fucking works”.

Shoyo stared up at his boyfriend, who shrugged and shook his head helplessly. “Wasn’t me. ‘Samu does the mental shit.”

Right. Atsumu was the expert in physical Illusions.

“You might’ve gotten better,” Shoyo pointed out.

Atsumu snorted and turned back to the snacks, snatching up several boxes of strawberry Hello Pandas with a knowing smirk. “Nah. As much as I know I’m awesome, I still don’t have a handle on that yet and I ain’t about to fuck with yer boss over it.”

Shoyo twisted his lips, unsure, then decided… whatever, who cared. He was gonna be working side by side with Atsumu, giving him an excuse to hang around him even more. And not only that, but it also helped alleviate fears they both had over Shoyo working there, over who may or may not show back up.

As if on cue, his eyes drifted to the ceiling near the counter, to the too bright white paint that didn’t quite match the aged, duller shade of the rest. It was obvious where the repair had been. And it was even more obvious to Shoyo _why_ the repair had been done.

Reaching back, he took hold of Atsumu’s cool hand, feeling fingers intertwine with his automatically, squeezing in reassurance. Yeah. Would definitely feel a lot better and safer having him around.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Tobio watched as the unknown brunette turned and headed back inside without saying a word. He didn’t know her, didn’t know her deal, but it was obvious she was dealing with some heavy shit that his presence wouldn’t or wasn’t helping.

Not his problem, he selfishly figured. He had his own shit to handle, not to mention the plethora of eyes all still staring. The Shimizu couple stood with their arms around one another, Kiyoko looking a little upset at the brunette’s disappearance, Ryu rubbing her arm in commiseration and comfort. On the opposite side of the porch, stood the blonde model and the shorter girl, her arms crossed and hip cocked out as she still assessed him. Something about her features reminded Tobio of Ryu though and he wondered if maybe he and Miwa weren’t the only siblings there.

Miwa let out a sad sigh before turning back to him, the light in her eyes gone and her smile shaky. Apparently the brunette’s disappearance affected her greatly, too, maybe even more so than the Leader and Tobio felt like there was a lot more that he missed over those six years than he’d previously thought.

Which was fucking stupid. It had been six fucking years so of fucking course he’d missed a shit-ton of stuff. It honestly wouldn’t have surprised him if it turned out she was Mated and had kids running around somewhere.

His eyes dropped to her neck. No Mating Bite. Didn’t mean she was completely single though.

Which made her reaction to the brunette leaving a little more intriguing.

He glanced around again. Probably a discussion for some other time.

“Are you done hogging him? Can we say ‘hi’ now?”

Tobio’s eyes shifted to the origin of the voice, finding a grinning man with spiky black hair and bleached bangs riding piggy back on a tall woman with her own dark hair cut at her jaw. She looked a little more nervous about approaching him though, whereas the man she held was radiating excitement, his heart beating wildly, fang tipped canines on full display with the smile that seemed to take over his face. Both wore Bites on their necks and Tobio figured this must’ve been another one of the couples his sister had told him about.

Damn if he could remember their names though.

Miwa shot the guy a look then rolled her eyes. “Nishinoya Yuu and Kanoka,” she gestured to them and the man waved just as wildly as his hair. 

“Noya!” he declared. “Welcome, bro!”

His Mate--presumably Kanoka--waved a bit more timidly, but her smile was friendly and sweet, bangs framing kind dark eyes.

His sister went around the semi-circle of bodies surrounding them both on the driveway and on the porch. Shimizu Ryu and Kiyoko, who he’d already been introduced to. A friendly girl with a pixie cut standing to the side of the doorway in a pleated skirt and vest named Michimiya Yui. The statuesque silver blonde female Tanaka Alisa and her Mate--and Ryu’s sister--with the bleached hair, Saeko, both also sporting Mating Bites. Another couple, both dressed in dusty jeans and sweaty tank tops and matching ponytails, Shirofuku Yukie and Suzumeda Kaori. And lastly, a girl he recognized from the stalker photo of his sister, her voluminous brown hair now pulled back in a ponytail as she hung out a second story window, Yamamoto Akane.

“You’re gonna be fine,” she assured him, her eyes flashing _Jikan_ yellow.

Tobio startled briefly but nodded his head. Must’ve been the friend Kenma had mentioned. And if a _Jikan_ said he was gonna be fine…

Although… it was hard to tell if he was gonna be fine anytime soon and what “being fine” even entailed. Would he be fine here with this Clan? Would he be fine away from Osamu? Would he be fine sometime in the indeterminate future where he possibly left and went back to the other man?

He wanted to ask.

He knew she wouldn’t be able to answer.

He turned away.

“Can we have lunch now?” the girl now known as Yukie commented, swiping her hands together to clear them off dust. A chorus of groans sounded out, even her Mate sighing and sagging her shoulders. “What? I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” someone chimed in but Tobio didn’t know who.

Yukie pouted and Kaori pet her head before pulling the shorter girl closer. “Let’s go make lunch then.”

That definitely put the smile back on her face, Yukie practically bouncing her way inside.

Miwa shook her head with an amused smile then turned to her brother. “C’mon. Let’s get you settled in your room while they cook.” She gestured to the door with her head before heading up the wide, long stairs to the porch.

Tobio picked his duffel bag from where he’d dropped it on the driveway and followed.

Inside, the space was open, the walls all made of glass and light wood. The mix of modern and traditional continued throughout the interior, classy and warm all the same. Tobio glanced over his shoulder at the Kitsunes still mingling on the porch, Ryu and Noya exchanging punches to the chest, Alisa, Michimiya, and Kiyoko all chatting, Saeko staring inside and straight at Tobio, still assessing. He quickly whipped his head back around, finding his sister starting up a set of wide floating steps in the same light wood as the rest of the place, glass barrier preventing anyone from falling down.

His steps were silent on the wood, a mix of his own habit and what he imagined was the wood itself. Peering down over the railing, he wasn’t able to see much beyond the teak floors and glass back wall.

The second floor was open and airy, the hallway comprised of white walls as it split in two directions. Tobio looked to the left to find a sitting area in the distance, teak shelves covered in books surrounding large windows, burgundy fabric couches on either side, perfect for curling up and reading in. He spied two light wood doors on each side of the hall, with no clue as to which room belonged to who. To the right, more of the same, except for a set of stairs rather than a sitting area. Tobio ignored the weird sense of nostalgia and the flashback he got from it.

Miwa led him to the right, to the first door on the right, opening it up to a well lit bedroom clearly meant for guests. More white walls, more teak furniture, the linens a pale blue that could work for anyone. It wasn’t anything all that fancy: a double-bed to the left, nightstand on either side, along with a door leading to presumably a closet and a bathroom, a bureau on the right with a flatscreen tv mounted to the wall above it, big armchair in the corner, curtains pulled back to let in the sunlight from a wide window with a wide base like a shelf. It reminded Tobio of hotels he’d seen on TV years ago, standard and impersonal and totally bare of anything superfluous.

Still, it was miles better than some of the places he’d lived in before, rooms he’d shared with rats and cockroaches and were decorated with mold and mildew.

Thank Inari for Kitsune immune systems or fuck knows how many infections and health issues he would’ve picked up over the years. And that was when he was even able to find a place to stay that had an actual roof.

“I know it’s not anything too fancy, but--”

“It’s great,” Tobio interrupted Miwa, causing her to blink at him in surprise. He shrugged a shoulder, hand gripping the straps of his duffel. “Better than where I’ve been living.”

Miwa’s eyes turned down at the corners, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as her heart beat slow and sluggish. Shit. He’d said the wrong thing. He’d always been shit at communication and being so out of practice with it over the past six years wasn’t helping anything. 

“Sorry--”

“Don’t,” she interrupted him this time, waving her hand around in dismissal. “I just.” She paused to wrap her arms around herself, taking a shaky breath. “I’m realizing that I honestly have no idea where you were and what you’ve been doing the past six years and Inari knows how you survived on your own as a kid.”

A pout formed on his face. He hadn’t been a _kid_ , not really. Well, maybe in the grand scheme of things when compared to other Kitsunes. Shit, anyone under a hundred tended to be looked down upon as a “pup” still, especially by the more elder ones--at least from what he’d been told by his parents. And maybe sixteen was still a kid in human terms, too, age of majority and all that shit. But he hadn’t felt like a kid back then, hadn’t felt like one since the day of the fire.

Then again, wasn’t like he’d had much of a choice, all things considered. He’d pretty much been forced into an adult role, taking care of himself and trying to survive on his own.

Still, the way Miwa looked at him, with heartbreak in her eyes and pity in her voice… it wasn’t what he wanted or needed or could handle. 

He turned away and shrugged. “I managed.”

“You shouldn’t’ve had to, is the point, Tobes.” She paused to sigh, running a hand through her short hair that still tripped him up in all honesty. “Part of me wants to say ‘oh well, doesn’t matter, because you _are_ alive and here’ but. But it _does_ matter.” Long delicate fingers cupped his chin and he jolted at the touch, unfamiliar, unused to being touched by anyone else.

With one exception.

Miwa whipped her hand back and Tobio lifted his head to see the hurt in her eyes that she tried to cover with a smile. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have--”

“No, that was on me.”

“No, no. I have no idea where you’ve been or what you’ve been through and I shouldn’t have touched you unprompted like that.” She shoved her hands in the back pockets of her skinny jeans. “I won’t do it again.”

“It’s fine,” he insisted and he wanted so bad to put a smile on his own face to reassure her but… but he was pretty sure his face didn’t work like that. “I’m just not used to people--” he trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence, then shrugged. Really, it was a complete sentence on its own. He really wasn’t used to people.

The sadness returned to her eyes and she pressed her lips together to hold back whatever was trying to come out. Tobio swallowed hard, stomach churning uncomfortably, skin prickling as he dealt with the unfamiliar sensation of… of…

Fuck, he didn’t even know what this was.

“We’re gonna talk,” Miwa said, a determination in her voice that was comfortingly familiar, even if he didn’t like what was being said. “I wanna hear about what you’ve been up to and how you’ve been and I wanna tell you all about my life and this Clan. But not now. When you’re ready.” She reached a hand out to him then paused and it was only when Tobio nodded that she gently lay it on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “For now, I. I just wanna say that I’m so glad you’re actually alive.” Her voice cracked on the last word, blue eyes brighter and sparkling with unshed tears and Tobio felt the lump in his throat shift to something else entirely.

Felt his own eyes water.

He reached up to wrap a hand around her wrist, her slender delicate wrist that his own long fingers now encompassed easily. “I could say the same to you.”

She let out a small laugh, watery and ugly, then sniffed before withdrawing her hand with a final squeeze. “I’ll let you get unpacked and settled. Closet is through that door--” she pointed to the one closest to the hallway “--and there’s hangers inside. Bathroom is through the other door, all to yourself. There’s already fresh towels and shampoo and soap and all of that.” She waved her hand around again. 

Tobio nodded awkwardly, unsure what to do or say. He didn’t really think he needed hangers. He just tended to keep all his shit folded up. Easier to stuff back into his bag when he needed to leave in a hurry. This was the first time he’d actually planned ahead and didn’t rush the packing.

It was the first time he’d had someone hanging out with him as he did the packing.

Shit. He’d meant to text Osamu when he’d arrived.

“Do you mind if I text someone real quick?” he asked, figuring he shouldn’t be rude, not when his sister was trying so hard to be hospitable.

“Oh!” Her eyes widened, then lit up for an entirely different reason than the shine off unshed tears and he refused to look at it any further. “Yeah, of course! Sorry, I didn’t--yeah, it’s fine. I’m just gonna go check on Mika, make sure she’s okay.” She gave him a nervous laugh and smile before backing out the room. “Just come down whenever you’re ready. I’ll make sure Yukie saves you some food.” A laugh that Tobio was sure meant she’d told a joke he didn’t get, then she closed the door over to give him privacy.

Leaving him alone. And awkward.

Fuck, he felt even more like a stranger, out of place in such a nice room. Turning around, he took in the furniture once more, dropping his duffel onto the floor with a paranoid sense that his grubby bag would somehow sully the nice linens, staining them forever.

Dumb as fuck. But it was how he felt.

Swallowing, he went to the window, taking in the view of the rolling green lawns and wide driveway he’d passed through. The truck was now gone, presumably parked in or near the garage, all the other Kitsunes gone, too. He couldn’t hear anyone in the house though. Rooms must’ve been soundproofed, unlike the ones back at Ushijima’s place. Osamu had explained that Ushijima did it as a security measure, despite complaints from some of the paired up members of the Clan who’d wanted more privacy, but the Leader had stuck firm.

Memories of laying with Osamu had Tobio stepping back until he hit the bed, sinking down onto a soft mattress. His chest ached in a way that it hadn’t since he’d lost his parents, feeling hollow and empty, that earlier belief that he’d left part of himself back in Sendai returning. He slipped his phone out of his pocket, flipping it open and pulling up his last text with Osamu.

‘ _- >Travel safe_’

Shit. Having someone worry about him was… it was definitely not anything he was used to, not for a long time. And in all honesty, he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about it.

His mind drifted back to the night of the raid on Daishou’s Clan, the shower he’d shared with Osamu after, when he’d had the epiphany of the two of them potentially--most likely--being Mates. It made sense, _they_ somehow made sense. And the way he felt when he was around Osamu, with Osamu, he couldn’t see how there could ever be anything wrong with it.

Until he remembered everything else, the circumstances of his life, why he kept running. Okay, yeah, being with Osamu meant being with the entire Clan and from what Tobio had learned, there was pretty much nowhere safer to be than under the protection of the great Ushijima Wakatoshi, but… but that didn’t alleviate all his fears. Not when he considered his DNA.

He breathed out a few swears, scrubbing at his face with his free hand. He wondered how much of what he was feeling was normal, what was toxic, what was okay to give in to. He wondered if Osamu had the same concerns, the same paranoia, or if he was open to things. He’d made it clear more than once that he felt _something_ for Tobio, quite possibly the same something Tobio felt for him. And while he respected Tobio’s boundaries and desire to not have anything serious, he wondered what would happen if he suddenly changed his mind. Osamu had admitted previously that he couldn’t do casual with Tobio, that he’d want more than that. Didn’t seem like that had changed.

Still, despite all the closeness, the cuddling, the kissing, not once had Osamu tried to make a move beyond that or convince Tobio otherwise and Tobio wasn’t sure if it was entirely out of respect, having a feeling Osamu was holding something back in much the same way he was.

No matter the case, his chest still ached, like someone had shoveled something vital out of it. And before he knew it, his thumb was moving, hitting buttons, and the phone was to his ear as it rang.

“ _Kageyama?_ ”

Tobio’s eyes closed at the sound of that familiar drawl, the way it sank into his bones and ignited his soul in the same way a warm fire or the ocean’s tides did. He lay back against the bed, lips twitching into a shaky smile despite everything, and fuck how he longed to hear that voice in person.

But for now, this was what was best, and he let himself greedily take it in, feeling like a fucking asshole for it all.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Taking a shaky breath, Miwa raised her hand and lightly rapped on the door diagonally from the one her brother was staying in. It wasn’t like she was doing anything new. She’d knocked on this door countless times over the years, sometimes didn’t even bother knocking and just invited herself in. Not that she’d ever be turned away or chastised for it. And not just because the person on the other side was too nice to do that. Yamaka Mika had no problem putting anyone in their place.

But now… now shit was different. _Mika_ was different. Miwa supposed losing a Mate could do that to you, even if you weren’t officially Mated. But from what she’d learned, Mika had been with Daishou for decades and that sort of love wasn’t easy to get over, meaning there were most definitely residual feelings there that would obviously be triggered by his sudden death.

A death that, from what she’d also heard, hadn’t been pretty.

Miwa didn’t know the circumstances, didn’t ask despite the fact that she was curious as fuck about it, not wanting to upset Mika any more than she already clearly was. All she knew was that it hadn’t been his own choice and that, according to Mika, wasn’t all that surprising.

Which just reminded Miwa that she really didn’t know much about Daishou either, just that towards the end of their relationship, he’d started to become unhinged and Mika had bolted before she became a target herself. That alone was enough to make Miwa hate the guy.

But regardless of her own personal feelings towards a man she’d never actually met and knew nothing about, her feelings towards Mika were deeper, controlling her actions as she became afraid to do anything to upset the other girl. Like nervously knocking, chewing on her bottom lip as she waited for a response. 

The door opened so suddenly it caused her heart to jolt in surprise, then again when she saw Mika, when she took in her clean, fresh scent, and a third time when she noted the changes in her appearance. Bags were beginning to form under her eyes, no visible make-up, clothes baggy and hanging off her rather than the fashionable presentable person she usually was. Her hair seemed limp and lifeless and Miwa wondered when the last time the girl took a bath was.

Her chest clenched, the lump that had formed with her brother returning. Inari above, the two people most important to her were suffering, were broken in some way, and there wasn’t shit she could do about it.

“Hey,” she let out weakly and Mika blinked as though she was only just now registering that someone was there. “You okay?”

A pause, then Mika nodded before turning and heading back into her room, Miwa following. Even the room had changed, was showing signs of what was clearly some sort of depression or grief or both. Sure the walls were the same dusty pink shade, her furniture all the same white that reminded her of doll furniture, linens all soft white cotton with embroidered eyelets and ruffle trim. But the mess was unlike her, clothes spilling out of drawers and left scattered everywhere, dropped onto piles on the hardwood floor. The corner of her rug was flipped over and left unchecked for days now. The make-up and perfume on her vanity was scattered, no semblance of their usual order to be seen. Her bed was messy, unmade, comforter shoved back as she presumably got out of it to open the door.

And most notably, on top of her bureau, below her tv, was the box the _Shugoshas_ had given her with Daishou’s remains, the envelope of his personal affects torn open and left beside it.

Miwa watched as Mika headed straight for her queen sized bed and crawled atop it, sitting in the middle with one of her knees pulled to her chest. Her bangs were getting a little long, falling into her eyes as she glanced down at the item in her hand, an item that was constantly there: a silver pin shaped like a curled up snake, mouth open in a silent hiss.

She’d known the nod was a lie. And she was sure Mika knew that she knew it had been a lie. She just didn’t know why she expected any different.

Maybe because she herself felt different. And it felt unfair really. Just days after Mika had gotten the call about Daishou’s death, a day after she’d gone to the _Shugosha _headquarters to identify his body and answer questions, and Miwa had gotten the call that her brother was alive. It was almost as though Inari herself had traded one soul for another, although Miwa knew that was untrue, impossible.__

__Still, she couldn’t help the guilt she felt as she looked at her suffering best friend, all while experiencing the overwhelming joy of being reunited with Tobio._ _

__“Yukie’s making lunch,” she pointed out gently. “Want me to bring you a plate?”_ _

__Mika shook her head, hair falling down around her shoulders, a curtain covering her face. Miwa moved closer, sat on the bed gingerly, raised her hand to move the strands behind Mika’s ear…_ _

__Mika’s head snapped up, but she didn’t look at Miwa. Her eyes were wide, fixated on the box across from her, as though it had spoken to her. Considering how Mika was a _Seishin_ type, maybe it had. Daishou didn’t seem the type to give up easily and it wouldn’t surprise Miwa if his soul was still hanging around, determined to finish whatever it was he’d been trying to do when he’d gotten killed for it._ _

__“You should go,” Mika stated, voice rough from disuse, from crying, from everything and nothing and Miwa felt her chest tighten further, rejection making her shoulders feel heavy._ _

__She wanted to stay. She wanted to wrap the other girl up in her arms and hold her close and never let her go. She wanted to kiss her head, her lips, everywhere, make her forget all about the pain and the hurt and the heartbreak._ _

__She rose to her feet instead. “Okay,” she replied weakly, hating how her body ached to sit back on that bed, to crawl inside and cover them both up with the covers so they could both hide from the world._ _

__But she couldn’t._ _

__She wasn’t wanted, not in that moment and not in the way she wanted to be wanted. Besides, she had her brother now, and he was gonna need her, too._ _

__“You know where to find me whe--if you need me.”_ _

__A weak nod, Mika never taking her eyes off the box._ _

__Miwa swallowed hard again, fingers itching to run through hair that she’d helped brush and braid and style and trim._ _

__She turned and left, closing the door over before clapping a hand over her mouth to muffle her sob._ _

____

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Osamu wasn’t sure if it was muscle memory or instinct or what, but ten minutes after pulling away from the house, he found himself parking in the lot outside of Kageyama’s apartment building.

Shit. Scratch that. His _former_ apartment building.

Sorta still his apartment though, Osamu thought as he cut off the ignition and got out, scanning the parking lot in a bout of paranoia. Daishou’s Clan was gone. Daishou himself was dead and the rest of them were all locked up by the _Shugoshas_ , no chance of getting out anytime soon--if ever. Therefore, no reason to worry that anyone was watching him or about to attack or some such shit.

Still, his eyes roamed about as he made his way to the second level, to the door that used to lead him to Kageyama. Only Kageyama was no longer there.

Osamu unlocked the door with the key Kageyama had given him with the instructions to take the food with him and turn it back in. He felt a little guilty for going against what he’d been asked, leaving it all there, paying another six months rent up front.

No one in the Clan knew. He hadn’t told any of them, hadn’t even told Kageyama himself. Probably because even Osamu realized how fucking nuts it was. But… but part of him liked the idea of Kageyama having something to return to, that if he knew he still had a place to live then he'd be more inclined to come back to Sendai. And, admittedly, a little selfishly, Osamu liked having a place to go to when Atsumu was driving him batshit insane or when his own angst was getting to be a bit too much and the ache in his chest was overwhelming and…

Stepping inside, he inhaled deeply, picking up the lingering scents of the apartment, at how strangely familiar they’d become despite only being here a handful of times. It was exactly the same as how Kageyama must’ve left it only hours ago, bed unmade and unrolled from the couch, pillow askew. The trash had been taken out, Osamu noted, the only change he could see. And inside the fridge he still found plenty food from their grocery trip together, leftovers from when Osamu had cooked the night before.

He’d wanted to stay over. He’d ached to stay over. He’d gone home instead, afraid to ask, afraid to handle what he’d feel if he had to watch Kageyama leave.

Probably for the best he hadn’t been allowed to give him a ride to the train station then. He wondered if Kageyama had been thinking along the same lines.

Closing the door over meant shutting away any light, the apartment a tiny windowless box. Not that it mattered, not when Kitsunes could see in the dark as well as they could in the light, not when Osamu was in a fucking funk and felt like moping. He easily made his way over to the couch bed, flopping atop creaky springs that jabbed at his hip as he lay on his stomach, cuddling the pillow close and burying his nose in it. The case held the lingering scent of nicotine that always permeated Kageyama’s clothing, his hair, his skin, but when Osamu pressed in closer, inhaled deeper, he was able to pick up the scent of Tobio himself, woodsmoke burning, warm and inviting.

His chest ached.

And admittedly, so did another part of him, his hips rolling against the bed to relieve some of the pressure he was suddenly experiencing.

Coming here was probably a mistake, given his already sullen mood, but… but there was really only one other place he’d wanna be and considering how Kageyama had gone to Tokyo alone, it clearly wasn’t a place Osamu could go.

Shit. His eyes stung and he shut them tight as though that could get rid of the tears threatening to spill over. Double shit. He wasn’t supposed to be this guy. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Damn Kageyama for fucking up his plans.

His phone buzzed in his back pocket and he chose to ignore it. It buzzed again and he slipped it out with a huff, getting ready to tell whoever was bothering him to fuck off and leave him alone to wallow.

Only… the name on the screen had his heart stalling and his thumb automatically swiping to answer as he sat up so fast he got dizzy with it.

“Kageyama?” he questioned, probably sounding way too eager, way too pathetic.

There was a pause, a rustle of fabric, a soft sigh. “ _Hey_.”

A smile formed on Osamu’s face despite the agitation he’d previously felt at this very man, the tension in his chest loosening, warmth flooding where he’d felt empty. He ran a hand through his hair as he let out a sigh of his own, feeling all the melancholy leave with the air. “Hey. You make it okay?”

An affirmative hum. “ _Yeah, I’m at my sister’s Clan’s place._ ”

Shit, what now? God he was shit at this, shit at everything. But Kageyama made him wanna be better, made him wanna work at this, work at _them_ , make sure the guy would never wanna leave for any dumb reason. “Are they nice? Is the place nice?”

“ _They seem okay, I guess? Haven’t really had a chance to get to know them all that well or anything. Ryu gave me a ride from the station and was chatty as fuck but other than that._ ” He trailed off and Osamu could practically hear the shrug.

Falling back onto the bed, he closed his eyes and pretended that everything was okay and that he was chatting with a Kageyama that was across town and not nearly two hours away, that the distance separating them wasn’t all that big. “Are they in the city?”

Another hum as he thought it over. “ _More suburban really. The place looks like it’s on a golf course._ ” He let out a small laugh of disbelief at that and Osamu felt his chest get warmer, felt his smile grow at the sound.

“Tell me more.”

A snort this time. “ _Not much to tell. I’ve been here less than five minutes._ ”

“Tell me anyway,” Osamu argued, pulling the pillow close to his chest. “I wanna hear everything.”

“ _You’re gonna use up all my minutes on the first day._ ”

“Ya promised to buy more. Hell, I’ll buy ‘em for ya. I just wanna hear ya talk.”

Osamu picked up the sound of a hard swallow, followed by a low, shaky “ _okay_ ”. And as Kageyama began describing what he saw out the window, Osamu closed his eyes and tried to tell himself that this was okay, that he could live with this.

And that he wasn’t absolutely terrified of how Inari damned comforted he was by the sound of this man’s voice.


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **For Day 1 of OsaKage Week: Fox / ~~Crow~~**
> 
> **Next chapter coming on March 4th.**
> 
> **Please let me know what you think in the comments or on twitter (@RitchMapp) using the hashtag #SeasCatchFireFic**

### CHAPTER THREE

“ _You let her sit on the bed again._ ”

Mika closed her eyes against the all-too familiar voice, a voice she thought she’d never hear again when she’d left Daishou behind. But of course, considering who he was as a person, he was back in her life.

Albeit not in the way he'd probably planned to be. Because she had no doubt he had some sort of plan brewing to try and win her back or some such nonsense. He didn’t give up easily, not when it came to something he wanted. And she knew that she was something he wanted.

Or at the very least, wanted to possess.

She’d never gone back to him, never wanted to go back to him. She’d left for a reason. And from what she’d learned from the _Shugoshas_ , she’d made the right choice.

Her hands slipped into her hair, tugging at the strands, the snake pin biting into her scalp. Inari above, had he really killed Hinata-sama and his Mate? His former Leader, his former mentor, a man he once admired.

Considering how obsessed Daishou had been with power, with wanting to rule and control and win, yes, he absolutely had. And then he’d threatened Hinata-sama’s children, innocents in all this. Not that he would ever care about the semantics of anything. No, when Daishou became obsessed with something, he became tunnel-visioned, only able to care about or see his own desires, how it would affect him and no one else. Chances were he hadn’t thought through what Hinata-sama’s Power would even do, if he could even handle it, if it would be compatible with him. Chances were he’d only thought about how much better and bigger he would be if he had the Power of a legendary Nine Tail Kitsune as his own.

And that narrow-sighted focus had led to his ultimate downfall, of that she had no doubt.

Not that the _Shugoshas_ had given her any details, other than he’d threatened the lives of a newly turned Kitsune and his human sister. There’d been no names but Mika wasn’t stupid, could easily figure it out. The only thing she was unsure about was how a newly turned Kitsune could take on an entire Clan, even a relatively small one like Daishou’s. He had to have help from somewhere. But where and who?

“ _I’ve seen the way she looks at you,_ ” Daishou continued, venom in his voice. “ _I know you have, too._ ”

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter. She had. She most definitely had. And she didn’t need Daishou to point it out to her. Miwa was the newest addition to their Clan, joined about six years ago or so, right after the deaths of her entire family. She’d been a broken girl back then, scared and alone and destroyed by such an intense disaster. Mika had done what she could to welcome her, just as the rest of the Clan had, finding herself drawn to the sullen girl who could relate to her own sense of loss. But over time, Miwa healed, adjusted to her new life and new found family, was able to find herself once more. And it was then that she began to look at Mika with a glimmer in her eye, a soft smile that she showed no one else.

Mika knew what it meant, understood the way Miwa’s heart began racing during certain moments, could feel the heaviness at times that were previously casual, platonic. The two girls curling up in bed together for comfort, then out of habit, became charged moments where Mika swore that Miwa was about to kiss her, and the fluttering of anticipation in her own stomach made her wonder if maybe… she’d be okay with it…

But then she’d gotten the call about Daishou and those long nights of wondering and examining her own feelings had been put on hold, turning into this situation where her ex-boyfriend was haunting her.

“ _Can’t say I’m too thrilled with the idea of someone else making moves on my Mate._ ”

Mika’s hands slammed down against the mattress as her head snapped up. A scowl was on her face as she took in the phantom form sitting at the end of her bed. Only a _Seishin_ would be able to see him, which was unfortunate for her, given that was her type. And because of that, he looked as real as he had when he was alive, just as cold as the Void he was so connected with.

Mates were often of opposite Elements, balancing one another out, helping to ensure the other doesn’t sink too far or reach too high or lose themselves in some way. A Spirit type was supposed to help a Void escape the darkness, keep them from getting too dark, show them the light. 

Mika wasn’t sure if she’d failed in her task at keeping Daishou from getting too dark or if his manipulative ways had extended to her, hiding his true self from her at all times. Either way, she’d never really been able to keep him level the way she’d always believed she had. She’d never been able to get him to do anything really.

Including…

“I’m pretty sure you have _no_ room to talk about anyone taking someone else to bed,” she snarled through gritted teeth, more unpleasant memories flashing through her mind.

Daishou smirked, the sharp canines characteristic of all Kitsunes looking more like snake fangs on his face and Mika’s hand curled around the pin she still held, feeling it dig into her palm. “ _Mika darling, you know he was just for fun, a little toy to play with. I wanted to see how far he was willing to go to protect his little friend._ ”

She thought of the lichtenberg mark on his shoulder and back, the lightning scar he now bore permanently, one that never fully healed. She’d always wondered about why that was, if he did it on purpose, if the intention behind it made it scar over. Not that it mattered. It was there, untarnished even by the Fox Fire that had ultimately ended him.

“Well, you definitely found that out the hard way.” She put a sardonic smile on her face and he let out a small chuckle, one that signalled he thought what she was doing was “adorable” and not much of a threat.

“ _We both know that people are willing to go beyond what others may find moral or acceptable in order to get what they want, or to prevent something from happening that they don’t approve of._ ” His tone was icy, eyes narrowing in a threat, and Mika felt goosebumps prickle at her skin as the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

Her heart began racing in her chest and she swallowed against the weight of his words. Even dead, he held a dangerous aura and she had no doubt that the man would somehow find a way to follow through on what he was saying.

He always did.

“ _Tell your little friend to keep her distance. Neither of you will like what happens if you don’t._ ” With one last venomous smirk, he disappeared.

The room grew warmer once again and Mika shivered against the sudden change, against the last words he’d left her with. Her eyes cut to the door, to where Miwa had just disappeared. Even before all this, she couldn’t be sure if she could truly say she was in love with the other girl or if what she felt was little more than a crush, but it was definitely more than what she felt for her other Clan-mates. It was obvious that Miwa felt something deep for her, and cutting her off, cutting her out the way Mika already was was only gonna result in hurting her.

But it was far better than whatever Daishou was formulating.

With a soft swear, Mika flopped back onto her bed, pulling her comforter over her entire body as she curled up and tried to pretend nothing existed outside of her cotton bubble… and that she wasn’t remembering doing this with a certain someone else with big blue eyes and soft black hair.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Hanging up with Osamu was… shit, Tobio didn’t know what it was. He wasn’t sure if it was a relief because he genuinely fucking sucked at conversations, especially on the phone, and he had no idea what the fuck he was supposed to talk about. Or if maybe it just… made shit worse, made the ache in his chest more intense when it returned, more obvious after having spent a few minutes without it. He hadn’t wanted to let the _Umi_ go, even if he hated talking on the phone and had nothing to say. He just…

Shit. He was fucked.

Phone back in his pocket, he glanced around the room, wondering if he should bother with unpacking. He didn’t know how long he was gonna be there, hadn’t made any plans beyond buying a one-way ticket to Tokyo. He had a feeling his sister would suggest he stay forever and while he wouldn’t mind being by her side… he knew it wasn’t a viable option. Not that he had anything against her Clan. He didn’t know them well enough to. It simply boiled down to…

Yeah. He wasn’t gonna think about that.

Maybe staying here for a long long time would actually be better.

He turned his eyes away from where they’d been fixated on his duffel bag, wondering if it was too early to go see if lunch was ready. But then his stomach growled and answered for him and he decided “fuck it”. He’d deal with all the other shit going on in his life later.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he glanced around, taking in the decor once more. The sounds of chatter and the scent of cooking came from the left and he headed that way, pausing by a set of shelves under the stairs covered with framed photos, all black and white shots, all of the Clan. Shots of the couples, shots of groups, shots of pairs. He automatically searched out his sister in each one, finding her by the unknown brunette who’d disappeared earlier in most of them. She’d said the name “Mika” earlier. Maybe this was her? Might’ve also been the petite blonde who was in a few shots that hadn’t been amongst the others outside.

“That’s Yachi,” came a sudden voice, making him jump to the side. Peering down, he found Yamamoto standing there, her eyes twinkling in delight. “She’s not with us right now because she’s off on assignment, but she’s still part of our Clan.” She turned her head to look up at him, ponytail swishing. “And it’s Akane. Don’t bother with the Yamamoto shit. Don’t bother with any of the last name shit. None of us will have it.”

Tobio just stared then slowly nodded once. He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of her statement, but decided it would just be better to go along with it. He may not have had plans for how long he was staying, but it was obvious to just… do as suggested while he was there.

“Okay.”

She grinned then slapped him so hard on the back it rocked him. “Atta boy!” she practically yelled enthusiastically. “Come on. Let’s go get some grub.”

He nodded again then followed her further to the left side of the house. The end of it was widely open, the right featuring a long table already covered in dishes of food and a few folks sitting down, the left entirely taken up by a warm kitchen with teak cabinets and stainless steel appliances. The island in the center held plenty counterspace, as well as about six stools tucked under on one side. And behind it was an eight burner stovetop, industrial sized subzero smart fridge on one end of the wide counters and stacked ovens on the other. He spied an airfryer in the back, a Keurig machine, eight-slice toaster, and a huge rice cooker that looked like four of Osamu’s put together.

He’d love this place. He’d probably steal the rice cooker.

And suddenly Tobio was craving another one of Osamu’s onigiris, having only been able to enjoy them twice before he’d come here.

Turning away, Tobio made his way over to the table, finding his sister helping to set things out. Her head turned to give him a small smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes, and even after years apart and all the changes they’d both been through, Tobio could still tell there was something bothering her, something not quite right. But she waved off the frown he gave her before waving him closer, patting the back of the chair next to the one she stood behind.

“Sit, sit,” she insisted.

And just like with Akane, he did as he was told.

The rest of the Clan all gathered--minus Mika and Yachi--all took their seats, with Kiyoko at the head of the table, Ryu to her right, Akane on her left. Which would make sense. Who better to be an advisor to a Leader than a _Jikan_?

Tobio looked around the table, trying to remember names and faces. On Akane’s left was Alisa, then Saeko, his sister, then himself. Next to Ryu was Noya, Kanoka, Yukie, Kaori, and Yui. Everyone seemed to ignore the empty seats as they gave a simultaneous “ _itadakimasu_ ” before passing the food around, helping themselves and each other. Tobio patiently waited, taking what was handed his way and dishing it onto his own plate.

“Oh, eat more than that,” Kaori insisted from across the table, dumping more rice on his plate. “Otherwise Yukie is just gonna eat it all and complain of stomach aches the rest of the afternoon.”

“Hey! I do not!”

Kaori rolled her eyes good-naturedly, bumping her Mate with her shoulder. “Yes you do.”

Yukie nudged her back. “Well, maybe I do it just to get attention from you. Ever consider that?”

“Of course you do,” Yui teased as she passed a bowl of steamed veggies to Tobio. “We’re all well aware that your dramatics are for show.”

Conversations broke out all over, Tobio overwhelmed by it all, unable to follow any of it. It felt a lot like when his Powers had manifested and his hearing had fluctuated, too much for his brain to handle.

“Save some for Mika,” his sister’s voice broke through the din, someone responding with an “of course!”.

“Is she eating yet?”

Tobio looked up to see Kiyoko watching Miwa, to see all attention turned to Miwa as the other conversations died down. Obviously something huge happened there, something that had the entire Clan worried about the absent girl. Even Tobio slowed his eating, waiting for her response.

Miwa toyed with her food, rolling around a baby carrot with her chopsticks. “Still not much.” She paused to let out a shaky breath, an even shakier smile on her face. “But I wanna make sure she has something there for when her appetite fully returns.”

“Of course.” Kiyoko wore a sympathetic smile of her own and despite the distance, Tobio could still tell there was a heaviness in her eyes behind her rounded glasses, a sadness directed at Mika and whatever the situation was there.

“Her Mate was just killed.”

Tobio turned to find Yui leaning across the table to murmur to him. Not that he wouldn’t have been able to pick it up if she hadn’t moved closer. The same sad smile was on her face and as Tobio glanced around the table, he found the pairs all moving to their Mate in some fashion. Kiyoko and Ryu held hands atop the table. Noya practically draped himself over Kanoka’s shoulders. Yukie and Kaori leaned their heads together. Alisa had an arm wrapped around Saeko’s shoulders.

All had a haunted look in their eye, more than likely imagining what it would be like if they were to lose their own Mate and not liking how it felt.

Gray eyes came to Tobio’s mind and he wiped it away, focusing on the moment at hand and not any sort of hypothetical bullshit.

“When?” he found himself asking, in need of a distraction more than any sort of actual interest.

“About two weeks ago,” Miwa answered for him, lips twisting into a familiar pout as she continued to roll around that carrot.

Tobio felt his stomach drop. Two weeks ago was when…

“Who?” he asked around the lump in his throat, skin buzzing unpleasantly, dread clawing the back of his neck giving him the impression that he already knew the answer.

“Doubt you know him,” Miwa answered, shrugging a shoulder. “Mom and Dad kept us pretty separate from everyone.”

“He might still know,” Yui insisted. “After all, it’s been--” She stopped suddenly and Tobio knew the rest of that, too.

“ _It’s been a while since you two have been around each other._ ”

Yui cleared her throat and put on an apologetic smile. “His name was Daishou. Daishou Suguru.”

Tobio inhaled sharply and his heart stopped dead in his chest.

Shit.

Fuck.

Shit again.

Eleven pairs of eyes turned to him, curious, confused. None were accusatory, none suspected him of anything. He wondered how much they knew about Daishou’s death, about his life, about how one had led to the other as he’d threatened a member of the wrong Clan and had learned that lesson in the worst way imaginable.

“Tobes?” his sister prompted, worried, voice thready and hand twitching as though she wanted to reach out and comfort him with some sort of touch.

He shook his head, turned his own attention to his plate of food, rolled around his own baby carrot. “Heard of the guy. Nothing good though.”

A chorus of snorts and agreeing hums echoed and Tobio wondered if they really _had_ known what he was up to, or at the very least what kind of person he’d been. He remembered Ushijima had called Kiyoko to warn him about the threat Daishou had made towards Miwa but he didn’t know how much the other Leader had shared, how much Kiyoko might’ve said to his sister. Maybe they already knew that Ushijima had been the cause of Daishou’s death.

“Being an awful person doesn’t negate the bond of a Mate, even if not formally Mated,” Kiyoko stated, voice soft yet firm and sure. Heads nodded around the table in agreement. “So in this time of grief, we will support our sister in all her needs and make sure she gets through this tough time.”

More nodding and Tobio knew that his parents had been right when they’d said Clans become families, especially after having experienced the way the Ushijima Clan had rallied around Hinata when his sister had been taken.

“For now, we also welcome you into our home and are glad to be a part of the reunion between you and your sister.”

“Agreed!” Saeko burst out, raising her glass in cheers.

The rest of the Clan did the same and Tobio felt compelled to join with his own glass of water.

Conversations shifted, breaking out again, everyone digging into their food. Even Tobio and Miwa started eating again, cleaning their own plates until there was barely a grain of rice left.

When lunch was over, the entire Clan helped to clear the table, everything getting louder as the hustle and bustle took over. Yui insisted he sit and not do anything, a guest in the house for now, and Tobio felt too awkward to argue.

Because the entire meal, his mind had vacillated between two very different thoughts: how this cooking was nothing compared to a certain someone else’s, and the guilt gnawing at his stomach at his lie, at what he knew that the others didn’t.

So while everyone else busied themselves, he grabbed his sister’s wrist, stopping her, causing her heart to begin racing as she stared at him with wide eyes.

“I was there,” he stated simply, watching as shock had her jaw dropping.

Miwa glanced around the room, making sure no one else heard. “Give us five minutes. I’m sure Kiyoko is gonna wanna hear this, too.”

Tobio nodded and let her go, let her continue carrying plates to the kitchen. His own heart pounded in nerves, taking in the Leader as she and her Mate helped to load the dishwasher. He hoped like hell she was as understanding as the other Leader he had experience with.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

" _The fuck do you want?_ " Osamu's voice was full of more venom than usual and Atsumu pulled his phone away from his ear to sneer at it. Okay, sure, his twin wasn’t much of a phone call kinda guy, Atsumu knew this, but the numerous texts he’d snuck out to Osamu had gone unanswered and he was done waiting for the fucker to take a break in his moping to act like a decent person and reply.

Hence Atsumu heading outside the _conbini_ to call him up. And here he’d been calling with good news.

Not that Osamu would probably want it or take it as good news, not with how deep he was wallowing at the moment. Which was probably the most un-Osamu-like thing possible.

Okay, yeah, he’d wallowed before, but over shit like someone else taking the last slice of pizza or there being no more leftovers or _Hell’s Kitchen_ being a repeat that night. He didn’t mope over a guy. Ever.

Atsumu didn’t think he was capable of it, not with how anti-relationships he was. The two of them were exact opposites in that aspect. Osamu avoided it like the plague, while Atsumu had longed for it with every fiber of his being.

And now he had it.

Turning, he peered through the shop window, watching as Shoyo handed an old aunty her receipt and change, giving her what Atsumu had quickly learned was a customer service smile. It was still genuine, because everything about Shoyo was, but there was something about the edges that meant it wasn’t as entirely heartfelt as the others, especially not when compared to the ones sent Atsumu’s direction.

His heart fluttered as his chest warmed and a small smile formed on his own face as he watched his Mate, the love of his life, the man he himself had been pining over mere weeks ago and now woke up to every morning.

The exact opposite of his twin.

“ _I’m hanging up._ ”

Oh shit, right, he was on the phone. Whoops!

“Wait, wait, wait!” he quickly called out, earning a deep sigh that he’d become all too familiar with over the past twenty-three years. “Wanted to tell ya that I got ya a job.”

A pause.

A long one.

And then.

“ _The fuck would I want a job for?_ ”

Atsumu rolled his eyes as he turned around, resting his ass on the brick windowsill. “To have something to do during the day, beside moping around the house as you wallow in despair?”

“ _I do_ not _mope,_ ” Osamu argued, the glare evident in his voice.

Right. It was ‘Samu he was talking to.

“Fine. Then how ‘bout having a place to go where ya don’t hafta deal with the others making fun or accusing ya of moping and wallowing?”

Another pause and Atsumu knew this wasn’t a confused pause like before, but rather a slightly pissed off pause because he had a good idea and Osamu refused to admit it.

“ _I already have a place like that._ ”

The aunty left the store, the bell jingling above the door, and Atsumu gave her a smile and a wave as she passed. But inside, he was trying to figure out…

Right. Chances were Osamu was referring to Kageyama’s old apartment. He was doing what Atsumu had suggested to Shoyo in regards to his parents’ old place, keeping it as an escape. Only rather than using it as a place to get a little privacy for more intimate moments, Osamu was using it as a place to mope undisturbed. Atsumu wondered if Osamu was aware of just how deep he’d fallen, how bad he had it, how much he was resembling Atsumu of a month ago.

Except maybe worse. Because while Atsumu had convinced himself it would never happen with Shoyo because he was quite possibly human, Osamu was suffering because the man he was interested in had flat out left.

Atsumu briefly wondered if either of them had actually _talked_ about shit or if Osamu was being Osamu and keeping all of it bottled up, only to realize that yeah, he was keeping it to himself. Not helping the situation.

He let out a sigh as he dragged a hand down his face, rising back up. “I know you ain’t gonna listen because it’s me saying it, but a distraction could be whatcha need. Plus,” he paused, putting a teasing lilt into his voice. “The job is at Ukai’s _conbini_. You can still be close to Kageyama in a sense.”

Yet another pause and Atsumu knew he’d won.

“ _Fuck it,_ ” Osamu sighed out and Atsumu silently fist pumped. “ _I’ll stop by later._ ” And with that, he hung up.

Turning around, he found Shoyo still behind the counter, only now he was staring out the window at Atsumu with a worried expression on his face. One that quickly melted when Atsumu gave him a thumbs up, shoulders sagging as he visibly sighed out in relief.

“Might wanna get back in here before Ukai-san sees you loitering around outside and not working,” Shoyo muttered under his breath, Atsumu’s hearing able to pick it up as though the words were whispered directly in his ear.

And, _oh shit_!

His eyes went wide and he hurried back into the shop to act as though he was stocking shelves and not fucking around on his phone. Although really, he shouldn’t be in trouble for that, considering he was doing Ukai-san a favor and helping recruit another worker. If anything, Atsumu should be the frontrunner for employee of the month, even if he had only been hired an hour ago.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Tobio followed his sister, Ryu, and Kiyoko to the third floor of the house, finding it seemingly separated in half. On the left, a single wall with only one set of double-doors. To the right, two single doors presumably leading to other suites.

Kiyoko led them through the double doors and down a short hallway with rooms on either side, into a large suite that took up what felt like half the upper floor. All three of the outside walls were made of glass and the roof featured scattered skylights giving an unobstructed view of the blue sky stretching out above them. Tobio wondered if either Kiyoko or Ryu were Heaven types, if all the glass was to give them better access to the stars and the skies that they were connected to. Or maybe they just really liked looking at all the rolling green lawns and the forest surrounding them.

To the far left was a large bedroom area, on the right a sitting area and it was there that Kiyoko led them, to white upholstered couches that Tobio sank into, his sister on the opposite end of him as the couple sat across the low white coffee table on an overstuffed loveseat.

Kiyoko smoothed her skirt over her lap, sitting upright, prim and proper, as her Mate slouched with his legs spread, an arm on the side of the settee and the other along the back of it, behind Kiyoko. Ryu wore an air of casualness that didn’t belong in the situation, but when Tobio looked closer, he could see lines of tension around his eyes, could see the anxiety in the way his knee bounced up and down. 

Out the corner of his eye, Tobio noted his sister sitting on her hands in her own nervous habit, lips pressed into a hard line as she held it all inside. But her blue eyes were alight with curiosity and Tobio wondered how much of the truth she knew.

“I’d offer you tea,” Kiyoko began, drawing his attention, and he found her watching him with a sheepish smile, shaky with her own nerves. “But I’m afraid we don’t have any up here.”

“Want a beer?” Ryu offered instead, lopsided grin showing off a fang, and Tobio wasn’t entirely sure if he was joking or not.

“He can’t drink,” Miwa answered for him and Tobio turned to her with a frown.

“I’m twenty-two.”

She swore softly, turning her head away from all three of them.

Kiyoko cleared her throat and it worked as well as clearing a chalkboard, erasing the previous conversation and any possible route it could’ve gone down. “I’ll admit I don’t know much about Daishou, other than what Mika shared.”

Miwa flinched, tensed up, and Tobio ignored it in favor of focusing on the Leader.

“And even that wasn’t much, just that he was obsessed in his greed and she couldn’t take it anymore, so she left,” Kiyoko continued, picking at nonexistent lint and debris from her clean skirt. “The only thing we know now was that he was killed, and apparently you witnessed it?”

Tobio inhaled deeply, tensing up as well, and he hid his own clenched hands under his own legs in much the same way as his sister. Still, he nodded, absently licking his lips before speaking. “I dunno how much Ushijima shared with you--”

“Ushijima?!” Miwa’s head whipped to him so fast he was surprised she hadn’t completely snapped her neck. Her eyes were bigger than ever, jaw hanging open, and…

Yeah, okay, so Tobio had forgotten to share which Clan he’d been spending time around in recent history, but it wasn’t like he’d done a whole lotta talking at all really. He was shit on the phone after all.

Kiyoko blinked a few times and Tobio could practically see her putting it all together in her head. “Daishou was the threat that Ushijima warned us about.”

Tobio shrugged, resisting the urge to squirm under his sister’s stare.

Kiyoko cleared her throat and smoothed her hair down this time. “I got a call from him saying that a potential threat had been aimed our way but that he and his Clan were planning to take care of it that night, then a few hours later, I received a text saying it was over and we would be okay.”

Miwa’s frown was now aimed at her Leader, confusion drawing her brow together and a small noise leaving her throat as she tried to articulate her thoughts.

“We didn’t wanna worry anyone unnecessarily,” Ryu spoke up, sounding oddly serious for what little Tobio knew of the man’s jovial, boisterous personality. “So we kept it quiet.”

Miwa swore as she sat back on the sofa, rubbing at her forehead.

“Not that we really knew what to tell anyone,” Kiyoko added on. “I believe Ushijima was thinking along the same lines and didn’t want _us_ to unnecessarily worry over something that may never happen, but wanted to give us ample warning just in case.”

“He also did it for me,” Tobio spoke up then cleared his throat of the lump that threatened to choke him. “I wanted to make sure Miwa was warned and protected.”

“Why would I need protection?” she asked, her curious frown now aimed his way.

Tobio dropped his eyes to his lap where his fingers were now tangling together, a shaky deep breath taking over. He needed to come clean, about a lot of stuff, especially the more recent events in his life. And if they all decided he wasn’t worthy of staying here, that they weren’t able to trust him after the decisions he had made, then he’d understand. Besides, wasn’t like he had nowhere else to go.

Those damnable gray eyes came to mind, a soft smile, the weak memory of the scent of ocean breeze and sea salt. And with it, came the courage to actually voice what exactly had happened with Daishou.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Tobio’s heart was an out-of-rhythm mess that Miwa couldn’t keep up with. That in and of itself was a sure sign that whatever he was about to say wasn’t good.

Not that any good could come from a conversation involving Daishou Suguru, not from what she knew of the man.

But it was the way Tobio’s heart was tripping over itself, only to suddenly start beating steadily that had her own pounding away in her chest. Tobio was so different from the boy she’d known six years ago, quiet, sullen, features always flat and expressionless. She missed the obnoxious teenager he’d been, annoying and gross and constantly bothering her.

It wasn’t a surprise he’d changed. Anyone would after six years. And it also wasn’t a surprise that he’d turned so inward, not after what happened to them.

“After,” he began, his voice rough and Miwa felt her chest tighten. She drew her leg up to her chest, fist clenched in front of her mouth to keep back any noises, head turning away.

She couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t handle the sudden wave of guilt that washed over her, threatening to drown her. Some big sister she was, leaving her baby brother out there, alone in the cruel world after such a devastating loss, ill-prepared for the harshness of it all. She was supposed to protect him, watch over him, as her parents had told her after he’d been born.

She’d fucked that up clearly.

Tobio cleared his throat and tried again, voice still holding a slight rasp to it. “After the fire, I thought everyone was dead and that he’d be coming after me, too.”

Shit.

Miwa clenched her eyes shut tight. Of course Tobio would think that. And Inari knew how long he’d blamed himself for everything that had happened, not unlike the way she was currently blaming herself for how sullen he’d turned out.

“So I moved around a lot,” he went on. “Last place I lived was Sendai.”

“Miwa told us that’s where you were,” Kiyoko spoke up, voice as soft as ever, the empathetic Leader they’d all come to rely on over the years.

The shuffle of fabric and Miwa peeked to find Tobio squirming in his seat before he settled. “Yeah,” he rasped again, cleared his throat again, began again. “A few days before you got that call, I came home to find Daishou and a couple of his--his Clan members in my apartment.”

Miwa’s vision sharpened and she felt the pinprick of claws against her palms as she tried to blink away the blue filter over everything. Now was not the time to lash out, to half-shift and do anything dumb. Not to mention it was a little fucking late. Daishou was currently nothing more than ashes sitting in Mika’s room

“He blackmailed me into helping him by threatening Miwa, showed me this picture of her with a few other members of your Clan walking the streets, like a stalker-type photo or some shit.”

“Language,” Miwa said automatically and she could feel the look Tobio gave her.

She was gonna have to adjust to his no longer being a kid. Not to mention potty mouths ran in their family. Shouldn’t have been a surprise he turned out to be one, too.

“How did he want you to help?” Kiyoko asked, redirecting the conversation, and Miwa swallowed, despite the gratitude itching to make its way out.

“He wanted me to distract a couple members of Ushijima’s Clan who he claimed were in his way. Turned out.” He paused, took a deep breath, and Miwa finally turned to look at him, found him staring at his hands in his lap once more. Only this time, they were clenched into fists, knuckles white, and she looked at his face, she could spot the tension in his jaw and caught the flash of orange in his eyes.

He was a _Kasai_. She’d always wondered if he’d lived then what he’d turned out to be. But the results would have to be something for her to unpack later. Her attention was needed on other important info.

Not to mention… she really just didn’t wanna think about that in the first place.

“Turned out his end-goal was to get to a man named Hinata Shoyo and his eight year old sister, to try and kill them so he could get his hands on their dad’s old Power.”

Kiyoko and Ryu both inhaled sharply. “Kaseya,” she breathed out, Ryu just staring wide-eyed.

Holy shit. If Ushijima was a somewhat legendary figure within their world, then Hinata Kaseya was even more so. And Tobio had rubbed elbows with both in a sense.

Fucking hell, her baby brother had really been through some serious shit.

Tobio nodded. “Daishou got tired of waiting I guess and he kidnapped Natsu, the eight year old, right from under Ushijima’s nose. The Clan went on the attack to get her back. Daishou didn’t make it.”

“How?” Ryu asked what they were all thinking and Miwa’s eyes remained locked on her brother.

Her brother, whose jaw was clenched even tighter and the veins on the back of his hands standing out and she was fairly certain she could see the orange glow of ears and… and five Tails.

Fucking. Hell.

Whatever he was thinking wasn’t pleasant and he stared at the coffee table as though he could ignite it with just his glare alone and… yeah, that was some shit Miwa definitely needed to ask about. She wondered if there was more to Hinata Shoyo than just “a man” as Tobio had described him, if maybe it was an entirely different M-word involved. His reaction spoke to more than just upset over a friend or stranger.

“Ushijima killed him with Fox Fire.”

Ryu whistled, impressed more than anything.

Kiyoko nodded sagely, as though that made sense.

Miwa stared at her brother, trying to make sense of it all, especially his behavior.

Obviously there was gonna be a lot of shit they’d both missed about each other. They’d been apart for over half a decade. It was bound to happen. But sitting there, seeing those phantom Tails--and _five_ of them at that--seeing the orange glow, seeing his reaction to someone else being threatened… it was like sitting on the couch with a stranger.

Kiyoko took a deep breath as she took all the info in, smoothing out her skirt once more. Ryu’s hand automatically slipped from the back of the couch to her shoulder, squeezing it in support, and Miwa dropped her eyes at the unconscious display.

“I’m sure Mika already knows some of the details,” Kiyoko began. “She hasn’t told us a great deal of them, or any really.”

Miwa felt eyes on her and she raised her own to find the Leader couple watching her. She shook her head in answer to their silent question. No, she hadn’t been told all that much either. Mika had barely spoken since it happened, much less shared any details of what had happened.

“I’m sure the _Shugoshas_ told her something about it, although we don’t know how much. And considering she had to identify his body, there was bound to be obvious signs of what had ended him.” Kiyoko paused, letting out a small sigh, gathering her thoughts. Ryu just kept rubbing her shoulder, her back, kept supporting. “But I think we should keep this information to ourselves. She’s obviously having a hard time dealing with all of this and telling her it was due to a child being taken, I don’t see that helping anything. If she asks for details, I’ll leave it up to your own discretion on what to share.” She aimed the last part at Tobio, who just nodded once.

Miwa got the impression he didn’t wanna share anything.

She wondered why. She wondered when he’d become so closed off. She wondered if she wanted to know the truth, if she could handle it.

Kiyoko thanked Tobio for sharing, for letting them know. Ryu commented on how everything made more sense, grumbled about how Daishou got what was coming to him. Kiyoko half-heartedly admonished him and Ryu kissed her hand in half-hearted apology. The two siblings were dismissed, leaving the couple in their suite and…

And then standing awkwardly outside the room.

The orange mirage of Tobio’s Tails and ears were gone, but she still caught the scent of blood, caught sight of red on his palms. The older sister in her wanted to clean it up, wanted to bandage it up, just like she had all his other injuries only a few years ago, back when he was still human and needed shit like that.

He wasn’t human anymore. His Powers had manifested, with Tobio all alone.

“When?”

Tobio’s head snapped to her, confusion pulling his brow together, and she swallowed hard.

“Your Powers. All your Tails.”

His jaw grit again and he turned sharply away. He shrugged as though it was no big deal, despite the twitching muscle in his jaw, and now the older sister in her wanted to smack him upside the head and tell him to cut the shit.

“Right after it happened.”

Inari fucking damn.

She swore out loud. Then again. Then once more.

Tobio kept his head turned away and shrugged again. “I really don’t wanna--”

“Okay,” she cut him off. She couldn’t really blame him for not wanting to go there. The fear he must’ve experienced back then, the trauma of everything accelerating the emergence of everything… yeah, she wouldn’t wanna rehash that shit either. “So can we talk about what Hinata Shoyo means to you instead?”

That had his head whirling on her, a disgusted sneer on his face. “What the fuck?!”

Miwa went wide eyed then shoved at his shoulder. “Don’t ‘what the fuck’ me! You were two seconds away from going totally feral thinking about the guy being threatened, so clearly I’m gonna think something is up there.”

He kept sneering, nose wrinkled in disgust, before it fell away. Before his entire face fell. His blue eyes got darker, distant, turned down at the corners as he seemed to remember something unpleasant, the real reason why he’d reacted the way he had back on the couch.

“It’s not him,” Tobio said flatly.

Miwa opened her mouth to ask who, to ask for details, to ask more about the life of a brother turned stranger. Except Tobio turned around and walked away, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans turned shorts, and she was left in the hallway wondering once more where her brother had gone.


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **For Day Four of Osakage Week: ~~Time~~ / Distance**
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the comments! I swear I will reply when I have time/ spoons.
> 
> And as always, a special thanks to Ingrid for all the conspiracy theories in my DMs. You know how much I live for those, haha!
> 
> **WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:** descriptive instances of panic attacks in the first section; nightmare and panic attack in the last section. Be wary if this is something you can't handle well.
> 
> Next chapter will be up March 9th. Until then please tell me what you think in the comments or on twitter (@RitchMapp) or with the hashtag #SeasCatchFireFic

### CHAPTER FOUR

Osamu put serious consideration into just… staying at Kageyama’s apartment. There was nothing for him back at the Clan’s big house, not anymore, not with Atsumu now shacked up with Shoyo. Everyone who wanted someone had someone. Hell, Kenma had _two_ someones and while it wasn’t exactly the same as what Osamu wanted, it worked for the _Jikan_ so…

Whatever. Point was… yeah, point was Osamu didn’t wanna fucking leave the apartment. The place was an absolute shithole and it pissed Osamu off to know that Kageyama had been living in this cesspit and part of him was honestly itching to bust out some bleach and scrub every last inch in a very Sakusa like manner but… but it had been Kageyama’s and it was all Osamu had left of the man. Well, that and…

Sitting in the car in the driveway of the Clan’s house, Osamu stared down at the keychain in his hand. The Vabo-chan keychain, with Kageyama’s apartment key still on it. Osamu had tried to give him the kitschy mascot back but Kageyama had told him to keep it with an inexplicable look in his eye and Osamu wondered if he knew, if Kenma had told him.

Probably not. Kenma liked seeing shit play out, only interfered in a big life-or-death type of situation, which… while this current one sucked a big fat hairy hemorrhoid infected asshole, it still wasn’t a life-or-death type of situation. His chest was too tight and his skin felt all wrong and his lungs didn’t quite feel like they were working but Osamu wasn’t dying. Meaning Kenma wouldn’t have bothered saying anything to Kageyama about Vabo-chan or how the keychain had played a role in a Vision involving Osamu and some sorta crossroads he’d come to involving it.

He snorted, the sound echoing in the empty car. Yeah, he’d faced multiple choices with Kageyama. Whether to believe him when he spilled the truth about Daishou, to let him go when he wanted to head to Tokyo, to… to wanna pursue what was bubbling under the surface.

His mind flashed back to outside of Daishou’s house, when the two of them had fought that _Mori_ Kitsune and Kageyama had been knocked down. Osamu had gone absolutely feral and the word “Mate” had flashed in his head like one of those neon signs in Shinjuku.

Mate.

Kageyama… Kageyama was his _Mate_.

And while that didn’t always guarantee any sort of feelings or relationship or even lead to a Mating itself… fuck, Osamu was realizing…

Shit, his chest felt tighter and he curled up as best he could, head hitting the steering wheel as he began to hyperventilate. Mate, Mate, he’d found his Mate, like his father had found his Mate and then his mother… then his father… his parents… Mate…

He couldn’t breathe. The air wasn’t getting in right and he couldn’t breathe and his lungs weren’t inflating and _Mate_ and death and loss and Kageyama had already left and his Mate was, he had a Mate that was gone and he was losing himself and--

The door opened and he was dragged out of the car, landing on his ass on the hard gravel. Hands grabbed hold of his cheeks, forcing him to make contact with glowing magenta and--

“ _ **Breathe.**_ ”

The air rushed in, making him choke and cough and gasp. The hands quickly let go as Sakusa backed away and Osamu caught himself on one hand as he twisted, hacking and coughing. But his breathing leveled out, the panic subsided.

Albeit in a hella fucking violent way but damn…

He looked up to find Sakusa towering over him, putting the strap of his mask back over his left ear as he stared down with eyes now their natural pitch black, just like the fabric covering the lower half of his face. His brow was pulled together but Osamu wasn’t sure if it was in disdain or concern or both.

Probably both.

“Thanks,” he wheezed as he let himself fall onto the ground, gravel digging in uncomfortably. He didn’t care. He felt numb now.

Sakusa shrugged as he reached into the pocket of his sweats and pulled out… a travel sized bottle of hand sanitizer. “Your head landed on the horn and it was driving me nuts. I wasn’t about to stand there silencing it all night.”

Osamu watched as he poured the liquid into his hands and scrubbed them, watched his face--or what he could see of it anyway--saw the lie for what it was. He and Sakusa had a lot in common, more than either of them cared to admit really. Both preferred to keep people at arm’s length, but for very different yet equally valid reasons.

Or maybe just to Osamu his own reasons were valid. Not that he thought Sakusa would ever begrudge him his justifications or invalidate them or tell him he was being a fucking idiot because his own reasons were deeper and heavier and therefore all else were lame in comparison. It was probably only Osamu thinking that, especially lately.

“Ya didn’t hafta drag me outta the car though,” Osamu grumbled, rubbing between his pecs as though it could loosen the knot still wrapped around his lungs, the tension feeling like a black hole in the middle of his chest that was sucking everything in and destroying it.

Sakusa shrugged. “Worked, didn’t it?”

Osamu glared. Then bobbed his eyebrows in concession. He wasn’t wrong. The anxiety was still clawing at his innards, but Osamu wasn’t in the middle of a panic attack anymore so…

Still. Not the best way to help someone out of a situation like that.

Laying on the gravel, Osamu stretched his arms out on either side of him, legs bent up, eyes fixed on the sky above. With the lights from the garage and house, he wasn’t able to make out a whole lotta stars, but what he could see were bright, beautiful, giving him all kinds of existential bullshit thoughts about how all of them would burn and fade out, just like every living being on the planet. Even Kitsunes eventually died. His parents were proof of that. And Kageyama’s parents. Hinata’s parents. Daishou. Countless others before them and probably after them, too.

One day himself.

And now he was sinking further, wondering if he’d be blessed with a long life the way Kaseya-sama apparently had been gifted, ending it with love and adoration and respect, or would it be short and empty and alone.

His left hand curled up, remembering the feel of fingers slotted between his own. If he kept down this path, it wouldn’t matter if his life was long or short; either way, he’d still be alone.

“What would you do if you found your Mate?” Osamu asked, turning his head to find Sakusa still standing there.

Despite the mask covering his mouth, it was still obvious the _Ongaku_ was sneering by the wrinkle over the bridge of his nose and the furrow of his brow and the tension around his eyes. Yet… yet there was something inside the eyes themselves, something sad and lost and Osamu wondered if maybe the sneer wasn’t the whole truth. Sure, he was probably not all that stoked on the idea of someone touching him or being close to him or doing any of that other shit, that much was obvious given the fact that he’d put sanitizer on his hands after having touched Osamu for only a few seconds. The thought of doing more probably terrified and disgusted him.

Yet… yet there seemed to be a part of him that longed for it, that was lonely. After all, he’d agreed to join a Clan rather than stay by himself, connect with them, be a part of them even if he was sometimes apart from them. Even now he was proving he cared by saving Osamu from his panic attack, even if it was hidden under the guise of wanting to silence the horn without tiring out his Powers.

Sakusa let out a sigh, the fabric of his mask bowing out from it, then turned his head away. He was staring at nothing but the tree line and the darkness within, held at bay by the artificial lights from above that peeked through his curly hair.

“I don’t know,” he carefully articulated, almost absently, before turning down to stare Osamu right in his eye. “But I wouldn’t purposely make myself miserable.” With that, he turned on a heel and headed around the outside of the house to get to his own.

Leaving Osamu laying on the ground. Staring at the sky. Feeling like he was just insulted or owned in some way.

Then again, wasn’t like Sakusa was wrong. It really did feel like Osamu was purposely making himself miserable, especially considering the piece of gravel really digging into his lower back. But more than that, he was making himself miserable regarding the whole Mate thing, the whole Kageyama thing. Giving the man his space to reconnect with his sister was the right thing to do and Osamu would never do that differently, but what would happen after? Would the two of them reconnect, too? Would they stay as this weird version of friends? Would they get together?

This state of limbo hurt almost as much as these damn rocks.

With a few choice swears, Osamu dragged himself up off the ground, swiping at dust most likely on his ass then trudged his way inside. He kicked off his flip flops and barefooted his way upstairs, silencing his way, refusing to be bothered by any other member of the Clan. He’d more than likely already announced his return with the whole prolonged honk thing.

Despite his attempts to move like a ghost through the house, his brother’s door still opened when he reached his own, Atsumu standing in the threshold in nothing but a pair of pajama pants covered in trout, his blond hair swept back and more to the side than usual, and Osamu got the impression that he had been in the middle of something--or at the very least, the beginning of something.

Osamu stared flatly to say he was fine.

Atsumu cocked an eyebrow to say he knew Osamu was lying.

Osamu shrugged to say that wasn’t his problem, then turned and headed into his room, closing the door on his twin calling him a “fuckin’ stubborn asshole”. Not that Atsumu had much room to talk. Stubbornness was apparently genetic, like everything else between them.

Shit.

Scrubbing his face with his hands, Osamu headed over to his right, to the fishtank along the wall illuminating his room. His aquarium was a near replica of the dentist’s in _Finding Nemo_ , only bigger and with an extra clownfish and a royal blue tang for Dory, something that got pointed out to him the first time Kageyama had visited and almost immediately pointed out the titular character. Crouching down, Osamu lightly traced his finger along the glass, following the path of the clownfish Kageyama had gestured to, feeling his chest get tight once more.

It hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours.

Fuck.

Rising back up, Osamu reached to the shelf above the tank, where he stored the food, and grabbed the jar of pellets. The fish swarmed to the top as he opened the lid and a smile came to his face and he looked at his little friends.

“I know you know what time it is, fellas,” he commented with a slight chuckle, sprinkling the pellets along the top of the water. “Here ya go.”

Putting the tub back, he watched the fish gobble them all up, made sure everyone got enough, that no one over-ate or went without. It would’ve been easy to use his _Umi_ Powers to communicate with them, to make sure no one was too greedy or bullied the others but… but he never needed to. He wasn’t naive enough to think he’d just luckily gotten fish that weren’t greedy or mean to other fish or any shit like that. Chances were part of them recognized that part of him. It was why, when he dipped his finger inside, the zebrafish came over and purposely swam against it, like it was getting a stroking of its own.

Used to be this was enough. Used to be he could tell himself he was fine being alone because he had all these little guys.

Used to be he didn’t know any better and now he was truly being naive to act as though he hadn’t somehow been irrevocably changed by Kageyama.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled his finger back out the water, closing the lid as he slid the device out his jeans. And jolted at the sight of Kageyama’s name.

Okay, yeah, he was hoping to talk to the guy again, to maybe, if nothing else, send him a goodnight text that may or may not get replied to. Osamu didn’t think another phone call was in his future, especially not this soon, especially not given how awkward they both were.

Yet there it was, his phone buzzing and Kageyama’s name displayed and shit! He was supposed to answer the damn thing!

Swiping his thumb, he quickly put the phone to his ear and gave out what was admittedly a way too eager “hey” down the line.

“ _Hey._ ”

Oh fuck, that was Kageyama’s voice again and Osamu had to move back, back, back, until his knees hit the edge of his bed and he could sink down onto the mattress. Kageyama’s voice, muffled and staticky but still in his ear and still amazing.

“Didn’t think ya’d call again.”

“ _I can hang up._ ”

“You hang up and I’m driving to Tokyo to kick your ass.”

There was a pause and Osamu so desperately hoped Kageyama would reply with something dumb, something cheesy, something that would never get said given the distance the other man had put between them both physically and emotionally.

“ _Maybe,_ ” he mumbled. “ _Maybe some other time._ ”

Shit. It wasn’t exactly what Osamu had wanted to hear but it felt like a promise of something to come and he fell back against the bed, heel of his palm digging in between his pecs once more. “Yeah. Just tell me when.”

“ _Okay._ ” His voice was weak, as though he was fighting to get the word out and Osamu suddenly found himself so very fucking jealous of his stupid asshole brother and the fact that he was able to say what he wanted when he wanted, despite all the months of pining. He was free with his words, always had been, including with the emotional shit. While Osamu was just…

Shit at it.

Even Kageyama seemed a little constipated when it came to all this and Osamu shut his eyes tight, rubbing at them as he mentally marveled over what a fucking pair the two of them made. Probably was a good thing they both had such long lives. It would probably take them the entire millennium to get their shit together and actually get together.

“ _So_ ,” Kageyama began and it felt like a shift, like he was trying to drag things away from where they’d been going, to stop them both from getting too deep before either of them drown under the weight of the current. “ _What’d you do today?_ ”

Osamu wanted to snort and roll his eyes. They’d never been the type to share how their day went. Maybe because, before Kageyama left, they’d spent those days together.

His eyes reopened, staring up at the white ceiling. This was how it was gonna be between them from that moment on. Phone calls recapping days as they tried to keep to the shallows, despite everything else trying to pull them into deeper waters, despite the growing tsunami threatening to drown them. 

“Not much,” he admitted, clearing his throat of the lump forming in it. “Mostly just hung around.”

Yeah, he wasn’t about to admit that he’d been moping--because he fucking hadn’t been--or admit that he couldn’t bring himself to turn in Kageyama’s apartment key. A key that suddenly felt heavy in his pocket.

He pulled it out, thumb rubbing over the face of Vabo-chan, feeling the way it protruded over his eyes and mouth.

“Think my brother got me your old job.”

Kageyama snorted and Osamu could almost picture those blue eyes rolling. “ _Ukai-san had been threatening to hire more new staff pretty much since I started there._ ”

“Guess he finally followed through.”

“ _Guess so._ ”

Silence. Osamu felt awkward, wished once more that he wasn’t such a lame ass and could hold a simple damn conversation. But…

But there was something so… _comforting_ about just being on the phone with Kageyama, hearing his soft breathing down the line, knowing he was okay. It wasn’t quite enough, he could admit that, wished like hell that he had the _Kasai_ next to him, his heated flesh keeping Osamu’s cooler one warm. 

Not that the need was purely a physical one in that way--although… it had been quite some time since he’d last gotten laid… But rather, Osamu just wanted to physically _see_ Kageyama, to reach out and touch his hand, hold it, hear that heart beating in his ear. 

Shit. His chest was feeling tight again, lungs constricting as that M-word settled under his ribs and grew like a big ball of lead, taking up all the space he had and not allowing any air to get in. Mates… Mates were a big, heavy thing. And from the way he’d grown up--at least the first eight years of it--he knew that it wasn’t a _good_ big, heavy thing.

Especially not at the end.

Fuck, yeah, okay, he needed a distraction, anything more than the filter of his fishtank bubbling away or the sounds of video games coming from a couple rooms away or footsteps padding around in the hallway.

“So,” he began, clearing his throat of yet another lump forming inside. “You get settled in?”

Kageyama let out a grunt that could’ve meant anything really and Osamu felt his lips turn down in a pout that he couldn’t interpret those little sounds.

Not yet anyway.

Would he ever? Did he really want to? What would it mean to be able to do that, to want to do that?

Shit, yeah, he needed to cut off that train of thought before he went spiraling again.

“ _I guess,_ ” Kageyama cut into his mental crisis and Osamu silently sent out a thanks to whoever wanted it. “ _Not much to settle really._ ”

Another frown. Because now Osamu was remembering Kageyama’s shoebox apartment and how he’d managed to squeeze everything into a single duffel bag. It tweaked at something inside Osamu, something he didn’t wanna examine too closely, something that felt an awful lot like when he and Kageyama had made onigiri for the Clan before the raid on Daishou’s place. That damnable Mate instinct, the Kitsune part of him, driving him to wanna provide and take care of.

Like stocking his kitchen full of groceries.

Making him meals.

Now wanted to stockpile his wardrobe, fill it to bursting so he had more to wear than faded tees and ratty jeans.

Osamu had a feeling his choice in clothing wasn’t one made with any sort of style preference in mind, but rather a necessity out of what he happened to have.

“ _I, uh,_ ” Kageyama began again, and Osamu tabled his urge to ask for the guy’s current address so he could order a bunch of shit online and have it delivered to him. “ _I told Shimizu--err, Kiyoko about Daishou. What happened that night. Her Mate and my sister, too, they all know. But the rest of the Clan aren’t aware of anything. Apparently Ushijima only told them that there was a possible threat heading their way but you guys were gonna take care of it, then text again just to say it was all over._ ”

A frown formed on Osamu’s face at the choice in words, at how Kageyama was keeping himself apart from the group. He’d had just as much of a role to play in defeating Daishou, had blasted the guy with fire, had helped fight Numai… had held Osamu back when his brother’s heart had stopped and Osamu wanted to kick his ass to get it to start back up.

“You helped, too. Much more than you’re giving yourself credit for.”

Kageyama let out a small sound that seemed as though he was disagreeing and Osamu’s frown deepened, preparing to argue with whatever Kageyama was about to say.

“ _I guess._ ”

Osamu snorted and rolled his eyes. “You guess? Kageyama, there’s no way any of us could’ve fought Numai the way you did, and with such ease. And there’s no way I would’ve been able to handle my brother when--” He choked on the words. He still couldn’t say it out loud.

Fabric rustled down the phone line and Osamu had the image of Kageyama squirming in place, uncomfortable and uneasy and totally not what he was aiming for. He sighed softly, rubbing at his forehead, before continuing in a calmer, softer voice.

“I genuinely think you were what gave us the best advantage and helped us win. You’re just gonna hafta take my word for it. I ain’t about to hear any arguments.”

A soft laugh was breathed through the static, unfurrowing Osamu’s brow and curling up the side of his lips. “ _Alright, whatever you say._ ”

"Sounds like you don't believe me."

" _Don't take it personal. There's a lotta shit I don't believe._ "

"But ya still believe in Santa, right?" Osamu couldn't help but tease, tip of his tongue between his teeth as he smirked.

_I-I-I--wha?_ " Kageyama stammered and Osamu laughed. " _Oh fuck you,_ " he retorted but there was no heat in his words, no real anger. Instead, he sounded amused, like he was stifling a laugh. 

"Uh oh. Someone's on the naughty list!"

Kageyama snorted in a way that made Osamu believe he was also rolling his eyes. " _I would love to know how you have access to that information._ "

Osamu grinned, folding his arm under his head, feeling more relaxed and light than he had in years. "Maybe I'm Santa."

A dubious snort this time, more than likely with another eye roll. " _Nah. I don't believe in Santa,_ " he stated before his voice got low, reluctant, nervous to confess. " _But I believe in you._ "

Ah fuck. No wonder he'd said it so lowly. The words were heavy, hard to get out, especially considering who they were coming from.

The lead in Osamu's chest grew heavier, too, crushing his lungs and making it hard to breathe once more. His eyes shut tight, stinging, watering. 

No one had ever said that to him before.

Not even Atsumu had ever said he believed in Osamu. And maybe it was just one of those things that went without saying between them, although personally he had his own issues with trust regarding his brother and the dumb shit he did--like acting reckless as fuck and getting himself killed--and trust was obviously a huge part of believing someone, believing _in_ someone.

The way Kageyama did with him.

And after everything they'd been through…. Osamu believed in him, too.

He was still falling. Fuck, he was still falling and probably even falling faster and it had barely been a day but that dumb saying about "absence makes the heart grow fonder" was proving to be true and that lead in his chest swelled up, reaching up into his throat, trying to choke him as it further crushed his lungs. He was terrified. He was utterly terrified because for the first time ever, he felt as though he could potentially drown and that had never been a possibility for him. No matter how far out to sea he drifted or how deep down he dove, he always surfaced, always made it home.

Not this time.

And it didn't look like that would be changing any time soon. If anything, he was only gonna be pulled further under. Not only that, but he was sinking by himself. Kageyama wanted nothing to do with relationships or anything serious and so far it seemed as though he was able to resist any currents pulling him away, pulling him down.

Osamu was alone in his darkness.

" _I should go._ "

Kageyama's words had Osamu's heart thundering away as panic threatened to finally end it all and he shot up into a sitting position, eyes wide and hand shaking.

"Please don't," he replied, he _begged_ really and he had no idea where that weak, pathetic, shaky voice came from but it was there and it was grating to his ears but he was so very fucking desperate not to lose the other, more soothing voice in his ear.

" _I should. I sh-it's better--it's a good idea._ "

It was a dumb fucking idea. It was the worst idea in the history of ideas.

But Osamu couldn't say that.

Because it was exactly what his father would have said.

The realization felt like ice, causing goosebumps to prickle uncomfortably over his skin and he shut his eyes tight as he suppressed a shudder. "Okay."

Silence.

Then a throat being cleared and a curt " _talk to you tomorrow_ " before Kageyama promptly hung up.

Osamu sat there, stunned, lost. Eventually his arm fell, hand and phone hitting the bed. Weird. He figured if the source of his panic was gone, he'd feel better, but instead, the Kitsune part of him was yowling in pain and loss.

An image of his father came to mind and Osamu quickly shoved it aside, bolting up onto his feet. He wasn't that man. He'd spent a decade and a half doing everything possible to make sure he wasn't, to make sure he never could be.

But it was happening anyway.

Panic welled up into his throat once more, threatening to finish choking him, and Osamu strode to the bathroom as though he could physically get away from it. He cut the shower on as high as possible, stripped his clothes as though they were the things restricting him, squeezing his chest and cutting off his airway.

Standing under the streaming water didn't help, he soon realized, trembling with a hand against the wall. He felt cold all over, worse than usual, and it had nothing to do with being unable to adjust to this new temp or the coolness of the tile or his _Umi_ nature. It was a soul deep chill and the only cure was a _Kasai_ that was currently over three-hundred-and-fifty kilometers away.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

The shower and tub were separate and huge and Tobio relished in having actual water pressure and hot water for the first time in years. He spent longer than usual under the spray, taking advantage and enjoying what he hadn't realized he'd missed, as well as admittedly avoiding shit.

He'd fucked up.

Fucked up bad.

Things between him and Osamu had always been awkward at times, what with both of them wanting different shit and Tobio just being awkwardness personified really, out of practice with communicating and relating or even wanting to do either of those things. And when he _did_ manage to get close to Osamu, it always felt as though there was something else there, walls built up to keep them safely apart.

Not that Tobio could say anything against those, not when he'd erected a lot of them himself.

And sure, a couple had fallen with that big revelation that they were both Kitsunes, those secrets exposed in the light of day on that back road. But there was still so much holding them back, holding them away from each other, and considering how Osamu had shut down on the phone after Tobio's idiotic slip of the tongue, it was clear the _Kasai_ wasn't the only one keeping shit up.

Kinda strange when he thought about it. Osamu had been the one who wanted a relationship, who told Tobio they couldn't be the type of friends who made out or did more--although that hadn't stopped them from making out again and again as they floated in this weird limbo state. Osamu couldn't do casual because he'd want something more serious, something Tobio wasn't willing to give.

And yet… it still felt as though Osamu was holding himself back, refusing to give in when things grew more serious in the way he supposedly wanted them to be. He always tucked tail and ran. And while Tobio liked to think it was because the other man was respecting his wishes and not letting things get too deep, he got the feeling there was more to it than that, that Osamu had other reasons for not wanting to leave the shallow waters.

Tobio also got the feeling that Fate was throwing them another middle finger as it dragged them out into the deep anyway.

He shuddered under the warm spray, thinking of that M-word that felt cursed.

No good would come of it.

Yeah. Bottling that shit right up and throwing it as far into the ocean as he could.

Which… didn't quite feel like the best metaphor given Osamu was an Ocean type…

Shit.

Tobio finally managed to drag himself out the shower after far too long in it, drying himself off with the fluffiest towel he'd ever felt. He then wrapped it around his waist and padded back to the main part of his guest suite, finding his duffel bag exactly where he'd left it the first time he'd entered the bedroom.

Osamu had asked if he was all settled in. And Tobio had lied. He hadn't even unzipped the damn thing.

Maybe he should. Maybe he should totally unpack, put his meager amount of belongings in drawers or even hung up in the closet, really make himself at home. He wasn’t deluding himself into thinking this would be permanent. From what he could tell this was very much a Girls Only type of Clan and the only reason why there were two men living here was because they happened to be the Mates of two members. He didn’t think being the younger brother of another was any sort of invitation or pass or made him exempt in some way.

Still, the offer to stay had no end-date from either Miwa or Kiyoko so he really should take advantage of the hospitality and all it offered: an awesome shower, a comfy bed, a roof and food and the protection of what felt like a Powerful Clan. Not to mention… that time and distance away from Osamu… as much as it hurt to even think about it… it was probably for the best. It would allow him to clear his head and reconstruct his walls and remind himself of why he always kept others at arm’s length, why his feelings for the _Umi_ were a bad thing regardless of how right and natural his Kitsune side insisted they were.

His hand was unzipping the duffel before he was even fully conscious of the desire to do so, eyes dropping to take in the contents. On top was his sound machine, his one luxury he allowed himself to have. Below that, his phone charger, having actually packed one for the first time ever. Then his clothes: worn tees and ripped jeans and holey socks and stretched out underwear.

He grabbed a pair of boxers and slipped them on… then started unpacking his things. Underwear and socks in a drawer, shorts in another, jeans and tees and the single hoodie he owned all hung up in the closet.

He barely filled a quarter of the hangers provided.

He closed the door, refusing to think about it, even as Ryu’s voice from earlier that day came to him, a statement--a _promise_ really, to take him shopping and get him more stuff. Tobio hated how he felt a little excited over that, over the prospect of new things before a frown formed on his face. He wasn’t a kid, hadn’t been for a while. One couldn’t survive what he had and still be considered a child. Maybe in Kitsune terms he was and he would be for probably the next century or so, but he still didn’t feel like one.

Meaning he didn’t need to be taken care of like one.

But he had to admit… the part of him that missed his parents, missed having a family… he liked the prospect of someone looking out for him, someone providing for him.

As always, his mind traveled back to Osamu, the way his gray eyes had sparkled when they’d gotten those groceries together, when they’d cooked together, when he’d given Tobio rides in his car.

He’d provided without making Tobio feel like a kid, but instead, like he was cared for and about.

Aaaaand now Tobio was feeling warm and gooey and all that shit he didn’t wanna feel, all the shit he’d been trying to avoid the whole time.

Yeah, the distance was gonna help.

His eyes drifted to the phone where he’d left it on the nightstand after he’d hung up in a panic. He was gonna need some emotional distance, too.

He just didn’t think he’d be capable of that.

With a few choice swears, Tobio tossed his duffel into the bottom of the closet, closing the door back over again. He shoved back the comforter before crawling under the sheet, settling down on a pillow that sank beneath the weight of his head. The bed itself was huge, one of those memory foam deals, and much larger than what he was used to.

Sort of anyway.

Because Osamu had a mattress similar to this, only cooler thanks to his chilled skin, and Tobio missed the way the two of them felt pressed together, the temperature balance he experienced, the sound of a heart beating so close to his own.

Leaning over, he cut on his noise machine and the artificial sounds of ocean waves filled the room, a cheap substitute but something that had brought him comfort many times over his life. Cuddling the spare pillow against his chest, Tobio could almost pretend it was enough.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Miwa stood in the hallway, pajama clad and barefoot, glancing back and forth between two doors. Behind door number one was her brother, a boy she once knew like the back of her hand yet was now a total stranger. Behind door number two was Mika, the girl she’d once been so close to yet was now unreachable.

Neither would welcome her at that time, she knew that much.

Yet she longed for them both in such very different ways.

Her fingers curled into fists as she took several deep breaths, trying to calm the way she felt shaken deep down. Honestly, it was probably for the best that she not get involved with either. She didn’t know how to deal with this new Tobio, just like she didn’t know how to look at Mika and not tell her about Daishou’s death. Considering her recent behavior, it was obvious that Mika had no clue what Daishou had been up to near the end of his life. Miwa didn’t wanna be the one to tell her, but she also didn’t wanna deal with hiding it.

It was selfish as fuck, but…

But it was the truth.

Door number three opened and Akane poked her head into the hall, glowing yellow eyes aimed straight for Miwa. She inhaled sharply at the sight, her heart pounding anxiously in her chest, and she folded her arms to try and keep herself together in some way.

“She needs your help,” Akane stated in that haunting distant way of a _Jikan_ and she didn’t need to say who in order for Miwa to know. “Not all spirits rest.”

With that, the tiny girl disappeared back into her bedroom.

Well, shit.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Black.

Not black really, but more like… nothingness. Emptiness. A void.

Yeah, a void that seemed to suck everything else out. He couldn’t see because there was nothing _to_ see. It was all gone.

Couldn’t hear because there was nothing _to_ hear. Which was probably more jarring than the lack of sight. There was always noise, no matter how silent or still something may seem. There was always the air whistling in and out of his nose and his heart beating in his chest and his skin rubbing together as he moved.

Was he moving? He couldn’t even feel his body. Couldn’t feel anything.

But the lack of sound… it was terrifying, his brain struggling to adjust as it sought out _something_ because with his ears there should be _something_ but there wasn’t and it was so so silent and quiet and absent, just absence everywhere. It felt as though his brain was buzzing but he couldn’t hear it or feel it either.

Nothingness.

Emptiness.

_Void_.

He was hyperventilating, panicking, except he wasn’t breathing and his chest wasn’t heaving because he couldn’t feel his chest, couldn’t feel anything and why wasn’t there anything why was there nothing why wasn’t there anything why was there nothing why wasn’t there--

Atsumu woke up with a rushed inhale so harsh it made him choke, coughing and gasping and shaking. He shot up into a sitting position as he heaved, as he struggled to adjust to breathing to… to… to hearing, oh thank Inari, he was _hearing_ his heart pounding and his lungs sawing and the cicadas buzzing and other hearts beating--

The one next to his was pumping out of rhythm as Shoyo stirred to life, shuffling on the bed and Atsumu turned to look at him, feeling guilt gnawing at his stomach.

“‘Tsum?” he slurred the name in his sleepy state, eyes blinking and unfocused as they sought him out in the dark, finding him eventually. His brow furrowed and Atsumu didn’t wanna think about how he looked, sitting there trembling, aching, panting.

“It’s fine,” he lied easily, hoping like hell that Shoyo wasn’t awake enough to catch the way his heart tripped over the falsehood, that his pounding heart hid it well enough. “Go back to sleep, babe.”

Shoyo grumbled and Atsumu leaned down to kiss his forehead. No more objections, Shoyo fell back asleep and Atsumu slipped out of the bed and padded his way to the bathroom.

He cut the light on once the door was shut, refusing to be in the dark, even if it wasn’t all that dark to his fox eyes. And despite the harshness of sudden light and the way he had to repeatedly blink against it as he adjusted, he needed it.

He couldn’t be in the dark anymore. Not after that dream. Or had it been a flashback?

Shit. He swore as he headed to the sink, cutting on the water to splash on his face. There was probably some sorta PTSD shit at work here. After all, he’d _died_. There was no way to come back from that without getting seriously fucked up.

Wasn’t there a movie where a bunch of college students purposely died then were resuscitated so they could see what the afterlife was like? Yeah and then they got more and more fucked up as they stayed dead longer and longer and everything became more terrifying and…

Right. Probably not the best to think about that, he realized with a shudder, bent over the sink, water dripping off his face. Last thing he should do was freak himself out even more. Not to mention that shit was fictional and this was real life.

Although considering what humans believed to be fantasy when it came to Kitsunes was mostly true…

Nope. Not thinking about it.

Atsumu splashed more water on his face then scrubbed at it as though he could also scrub away remnants of that dream-flashback-whatever. Reaching for a towel, he was pleasantly surprised to actually find one, only to remember that with Natsu sharing the bathroom with them and her blatant disapproval at him leaving his swim shorts everywhere, he’d had very little choice but to tidy them up, actually washing them and putting them in the drawer they were supposed to live in.

Speaking of…

A whimper sounded out from the next room and Atsumu doused the lights before making his way over to the door leading to her room. Cracking it open, he got a peek at the tiny body on the too big bed, a stuffed fox on either side as… as she let out another whimper, her face contorted in pain and fear.

Shit. He wasn’t the only one having nightmares and this wasn’t the first time he’d found her in the middle of one since the whole incident with Daishou went down. Which made a lot of sense, too, considering she was an eight year old kid who’d seen her friend get beaten up before she was taken and threatened as she was held against her will. That would traumatize even a full grown adult.

“Nats,” Atsumu called softly, careful not to wake the other residents of the house, the ones with better hearing than her’s. He quietly made his way over and sat down on bed, close enough to gently rub her shoulder, to slowly lure her awake. “Natsu, sweetie, wake up for me.”

Another whimper as she squirmed in place and Kasey the crocheted fox was inadvertently punched.

Atsumu took hold of her tiny fist and jostled it, his other hand still rubbing at her arm, shaking her shoulder a bit. “Natsu. C’mon, honey.”

A groan, a whine, but her eyes were opening, blinking blearily just like Shoyo’s had only moments before. “‘Tsumu?”

He gave her a soft smile, still rubbing at her arm, at the back of her fist. “Heya, princess. You were having a bad dream.”

She rubbed at her eyes with her free hand and Atsumu released her other to tuck Kasey back under her arm in his rightful spot. “He took me again.”

Ah fuck.

Atsumu swept her curly hair back from her face, cupping her cheek. “I promise you he is gone forever and will never, ever hurt you ever again. I won’t let him.” He flashed his eyes blue to show her he meant it, that he’d use his “special fox magic”--as she called it--to stop Daishou or anyone else who’d ever try. Natsu had become an irrevocable part of his heart in the short time he’d known her and he’d die himself before anything happened to her or her brother.

Hell, he already had.

And he’d do it all over again, even knowing what was on the other side.

Natsu nodded meekly, cuddling both stuffed foxes close, and Atsumu wished his “special fox magic” was able to actually imbue them with Powers of their own, able to keep bad dreams away from her the way he pretended they could.

But for now, at least he’d gotten her out of this latest one and hopefully assured her that all would be okay.

“Think ya can go back to sleep?”

Another weak nod and Atsumu gave her a soft smile before leaning down to kiss her forehead in much the same way he had just done to her brother. But before he could get up and go back to his room, a small hand shot out, tiny nails digging into his wrist and clutching him close. His eyes went wide, especially when he took in the puppy dog face she wore, one that he’d once used to coerce his brother into making them pancakes.

Damn. It really was a powerful expression. Kitsune or not, the girl might’ve been the most powerful of them in the house.

“Can you stay here? Please?” Her voice was so weak, lower lip wobbling in a genuine plea, not the pseudo-false one she’d worn for Osamu, and Atsumu swallowed hard, knowing he was just as whipped for her as he was for Shoyo.

Must’ve been a Hinata thing. Probably in the DNA.

So he nodded and told her to scoot over some, which she gladly did, and Atsumu slipped under the covers. Natsu didn’t hesitate to curl up close, snuggling into his chest with both foxes clutched between the two of them. Atsumu wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her curly hair, listening to her rabbiting heart as it gradually slowed down then evened out, just as her breathing did the same.

Stretching his hearing, Atsumu found Shoyo’s heart and breathing just as steady and even as he dozed away peacefully. Elsewhere he found his brother’s, found Kenma and Kuroo and Daichi and Iwaizumi and Oikawa. Everyone on this floor was okay, safe, sound, protected.

Goosebumps pricked at the back of his neck and he found himself falling asleep, too, hoping like hell his own nightmare would stay away. He had to protect this little girl from her own.


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my love to Ingrid for the theorizing and live-reaction DMs. They're absolutely wonderful, just like you ^___^
> 
> Next chapter up in five days, Sunday March 14th.
> 
> Please share your thoughts via comment or on Twitter (@RitchMapp) using the hashtag #SeasCatchFireFic

### CHAPTER FIVE

Stepping out into the hallway, the last thing Tobio expected to find was his sister curled up outside the door diagonally to the one he’d just stepped through. And yet, that’s exactly what happened.

Miwa stirred to life, even with him gently closing the door, blinking blearily at him. He heard her heartrate tick up a notch with recognition, watching as blue eyes so similar to his own traveled up and down him, taking note of the old PE shorts and tee he wore.

“I’m going for a run,” he stated, feeling strange at having to explain himself and his outfit to someone else. He hadn’t been holden to anyone in so long, hadn’t had anyone question his motives or actions. It was yet another thing he’d grown out of and now had to become reaccustomed to.

Miwa nodded, rubbing at her eyes even as she pushed herself up. “Want some company?”

Automatically, his mind conjured up an image of Osamu, the way he seemed to glisten rather than get sweaty, gray hair darker as it would stick to his forehead, the compression pants he wore under his shorts out of both desire for the support and out of being cold. Two days after the incident at Daishou’s, they’d gone out jogging together, feet always pounding pavement in perfect rhythm as neither of them had to hold back anymore, going longer and further than they would’ve been able to with a human partner.

Oddly enough, he’d grown accustomed to that, too, to how right it felt to have those footsteps slap with his own, another person panting steadily beside him. He didn’t wanna think about how weird it would be to not have that anymore. If for no other reason that it would be proof that he and Osamu were currently apart, and that being apart was the strange thing. He didn’t wanna be used to someone beside him.

Which… felt sort of opposite from his current behavior, where he was nodding in agreement of having his sister join him.

A small smile tugged at her lips and she seemed more awake now, a slight spring to her step as she made her way over. “Gimme, like, five minutes to change real quick.”

He nodded again then watched as she disappeared into the room opposite his temporary one. 

It was just for nostalgia, he told himself. Just a way to reconnect by doing something they used to always do together, something that had been their _Thing_ , even if it had been in the evenings and not at the crack of dawn. Whatever. The specific shit didn’t matter. He just wanted to be able to go and get his mind off shit after everything that had happened over the past couple weeks.

It took less than five minutes for Miwa to change into a pair of shorts and a sports bra, her hair tied in a tiny ponytail with countless clips holding the loose parts up and off her face and neck. She led him downstairs to the shoe rack at the front door where they both put their sneakers on before heading outside.

The heat didn’t feel as oppressive here, Tobio noted as the two of them went through a series of stretches on the wide front porch. It might’ve been the early hour but Tobio knew that the time of day didn’t seem to matter much to the humidity back in Sendai as it enjoyed weighing people down far too much. At that moment, on the outskirts of Tokyo, it felt almost pleasant while also hinting at heat to come later in the day.

“Wanna jog around the property or around the town?” Miwa asked and Tobio… Tobio just shrugged, not really caring either way. Her lips twisted in a thoughtful pout before she gave a dismissive shrug of her own. “Jog around the property it is!” she decided, then gestured to him with a wave of the hand to follow as she took off toward the side of the house.

Tobio followed, the two of them moving at a steady clip as they rounded the house and onto a paved drive smaller than the one he and Ryu had driven up the previous day. He was able to get a good view of the backyard, a wide _engaku_ veranda made of dark stone, much like the front porch, featuring a long glass and metal table with a dozen chairs tucked under and a small kitchenette-type area. At the edge of it all, neatly trimmed grass poked up around meter wide square stones comprising a wide area, at the center of which was a raised firepit with cushioned chairs and couches surrounding it. Further back was a pool surrounded by more stones set in cement grout, featuring a small diving board and scattered loungers and bistro sets around it.

The path cut through those rolling green golf course lawns, to a large shed that looked as though it could hold several Hummers and still have room to spare, a greenhouse the size of an actual house, windows steamed up and obstructing any peek inside.

“Yukie’s,” Miwa explained when she caught Tobio looking. “She grows all our fruits, veggies, and herbs. Uses her _Mori_ Powers to give us fresh ingredients regardless of season.”

The mention of a _Mori_ had his mind flashing back to the night at Daishou’s and his chest began to ache with the phantom feel of a tree limb crashing into it. Not that he’d think Yukie would throw a tree at him. Bokuto from the Ushijima Clan certainly hadn’t. He was more concerned with his own lawn and his flowers. Rumor had it he’d been very upset by the way Numai had used those trees against Tobio and Osamu, not to mention the lack of any animals in the forest surrounding Daishou’s place.

Maybe that was why Numai was in Daishou’s Clan in the first place, because he had a complete and utter disregard for life as well.

Seemed to be a common trait in that Clan.

He shoved all that aside, focused instead on his breathing, his footsteps as the path turned into a divider between the green grass and the dense forest to the right that seemed to surround the property. It cut around a large lake with a floating dock that jutted out into it and Miwa gave it a fond smile as they went by, leading him to believe that it was more or less her lake. _Kawas_ like her always found some form of body of water that they laid claim to, using it to connect to their element to recharge, heal, or just be at peace for a little while.

It was a lot harder for _Kasai_. They couldn’t completely submerge themselves in their element the way _Kawas_ or _Umis_ or _Kukans_ could. The best Tobio could hope for was laying much too close to a firepit or spending time in a heated room such as a sauna or some shit. He was fireproof, but spending time _inside_ a fire was a bit too much, traumatic flashbacks notwithstanding.

“You sleep okay?” Miwa cut into his thoughts and he turned to find her watching him in between glances at the path.

He simply shrugged. He kind of had, kind of hadn’t, but it had nothing to do with her or the house or the bed and he didn’t want her taking shit personally. She’d so easily slipped back into big sister mode with him, constantly to make sure he was okay and that everything was alright. He didn’t want her to get unnecessarily upset over something beyond her control, not after having done that the day before during their convo with her Leader and her Mate.

She seemed to take his non-answer as an answer though, a thoughtful hum leaving her. “You never could sleep anywhere new.”

He hated how that was still true, especially given how many new places he’d been forced to try and sleep in.

“Still have that wave machine?” she asked lightly before a frown returned and she let out a swear. “Dumb question. Of course you wouldn't.”

Right. Because the fire more than likely destroyed it.

“I got a new one,” he answered instead, relieving the guilt she was feeling at the reminder of what had happened to the other half of their family, of what had driven the two of them apart. Also, admittedly… he had that strange need to keep the conversation going that he’d felt with Osamu at the beach that first time, when the _Umi_ had let loose the lame pick-up line that Tobio was pretty sure he hadn’t meant to say.

“Still can’t sleep without hearing the ocean either, huh?”

Now Tobio was the one pouting, putting it together in his head. The more evidence that pointed to his and Osamu being Mates, the more his chest felt as though it was caught in a vice that was slowly being tightened.

Mates were drawn to one another’s Element much like they were their own, finding comfort and peace and a sense of stability in it. And over that past six years of being alone and on the run, the only thing that had felt even remotely comforting to him had been the sounds of ocean waves crashing against the shore.

That, and now the man who could control those very waves with the flick of a wrist.

“You’ll get used to it eventually,” Miwa commented and Tobio was sure she was referring to sleeping at her Clan’s house, despite his head interpreting it as eventually getting used to the idea of having a Mate.

And maybe he would. Maybe one day that thought wouldn’t cause panic to well inside his chest and cause his stomach to churn uncomfortably. But for the moment, fear had him within its frozen grip and it showed no sign of letting go any time soon.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

It was somewhat surprising to Shoyo how quickly he got used to waking up beside someone else, eyes opening to find another laying beside him, mouth hanging open as he mouth-breathed and sometimes drooled--before arguing that he most definitely didn’t. He’d gotten used to kissing Atsumu awake and bribing him outta bed with promises of a warm breakfast and insisting they don’t have time to fool around--as much as he admittedly often wanted to just stay in bed and do just that, but duty called and they always had to put it on hold.

So waking up alone was something entirely out of the norm for him since moving into the Ushijima Clan house, only ever happening once on his very first morning when Atsumu had wanted to let him sleep in. Stretching his arms out brought him nothing but a whole lotta sheets, the bed feeling chillier than usual from the lack of another body under the covers with him.

Blinking slowly, Shoyo sat up and glanced around, finding the room empty in the dull light of early morning and his heart began pounding in upset. He knew Atsumu wouldn’t leave him alone in any way. Hell, he knew that they both had to keep from monopolizing one another--especially Atsumu, who admitted he had issues dealing with that and not wanting to turn into his parents and their unhealthy obsession with each other. So purposely being abandoned by the guy wasn’t even an option to worry over.

He didn’t think anything bad could’ve happened but….

But Atsumu had _died_. Shoyo had watched his chest get hit by whatever darkness Daishou controlled. And while Suga seemed to have gotten it out of him and Ushijima had brought him back and healed him up, there was always the chance that something still remained inside Atsumu, eating away at him, possibly even slowly killing him. Shoyo didn’t wanna think about it, but he knew he’d be dumb and naive to not consider it as a possibility. He’d already lost his parents. It would be entirely possible to lose Atsumu--and this time, have it be permanently.

A shudder raced through him, ordinarily heated skin suddenly feeling chilled. His ears went searching automatically and he felt a pull in his chest demanding he go to the bathroom.

Felt a pull in his bladder demanding the same thing really.

So to the bathroom he went, hearing the comforting sounds of two familiar heartbeats coming from the bedroom opposing his own. He made quick work of relieving himself and washing his hands before he cracked open the door.

Spread out on the bed was Atsumu, mouth hanging open and drool leaking from one side. Natsu was sprawled atop him, sharing Atsumu’s broad chest with Miku the stuffed fox as Kasey was crushed by her other arm. Both were steadily breathing, both were fast asleep, and Shoyo slipped back out without disturbing either of them.

God--or rather, _Inari_ knew they both needed the shut eye and since it was a Saturday, Shoyo wasn’t about to stop Natsu from having a rare lie-in.

Back in his room, Shoyo grabbed a pair of jeans and a tee to change into, trying to focus on the task but instead finding his mind wandering. He was well aware Atsumu was having trouble sleeping, had woken up more than once because the man was having a nightmare. Not that Atsumu would ever admit it or act like anything was wrong. No, he kept up the sunny facade and cheeky smirks and playful jokes as always. And as much as Shoyo wanted to press and ask him what the hell was going on, he couldn’t. He knew there was no point. Atsumu was too far into his own head with that shit.

No more though, Shoyo decided. He was gonna get that jerk to confess to it all no matter how much he fought against it. He refused to let Atsumu pull away from him in much the same way he tried before they rescued Natsu. After all, with a thousand years stretched out before them, they were gonna hafta start learning how to have these serious conversations and it was better to do so sooner rather than later.

Maybe even that weekend.

But for now, Shoyo was content to let them sleep.

He left the bedroom and headed down the hall, past closed doors full of other snoring and dozing. Iwaizumi and Oikawa a room away from Natsu’s, three heartbeats in Daichi and Kuroo’s room on the end. Kenma must’ve had a bad Vision again.

Seemed like it had been a good night for bad dreams.

Downstairs was more quiet, Bokuto and Akaashi the only ones residing down there, just as asleep as everyone else. The breeze outside created a tinkling symphony with the windchimes as birds called out to one another to start their own days. And in the kitchen, the only other conscious soul resided, Shoyo finding Osamu standing in front of the window and staring blankly out at the front yard.

He was in his jogging gear and dark patches of sweat stood out even on the black clothing, meaning he'd just returned from his daily run. Shoyo hoped it was a good sign, that if nothing else, he was learning that he couldn’t just hang around moping all day, that a return to a routine was the best cure for heartache and loss.

He would know.

"Morning, Osamu," he greeted, watching as the other man jolted, the water in his half full bottle sloshing about. Weird. Shoyo hadn't been all that stealthy coming into the room and he lacked any sort of Illusionary skill so he couldn't hide any sounds he could make. And on top of that, a Kitsune's hearing was incomparably good, especially if someone had been a Kitsune for several years, as Osamu had.

He must've been zoning out pretty hard if he didn't notice Shoyo enter.

Which… was even more worrying. Osamu had always been the more astute twin, the more alert and attention and observant twin. Him losing focus was a major deal.

“Everything alright?” he asked, brow pulling in worry, as he made his way to the coffee maker to get a pot started. “Other than the obvious, of course.”

Then again, maybe “the obvious” was the cause of all his problems and the reason why Osamu was so out of sorts. From what Atsumu had told him, the older twin didn’t really do romance or relationships, so losing someone that could’ve potentially led to just that would’ve been very disconcerting as well as upsetting.

Osamu turned and leaned back against the counter, arms folding nonchalantly as he aimed his own confused frown Shoyo’s way. “What’s ‘the obvious’?”

Shoyo shot him a dubious look.

Osamu gestured helplessly. “I don’t speak,” he mimicked the expression Shoyo wore to wrap up his statement, making the shorter man sigh.

“Kageyama.”

Osamu turned sharply away, muscle in his jaw ticking. “Dunno what yer talkin’ about.”

Shoyo let out a hum as he focused on the coffee maker once more. “Yeah. ‘Tsum has the same habit of clenching his jaw like that when he lies.”

And suddenly Osamu’s jaw relaxed.

Shoyo headed over to the sink beside Osamu to fill the carafe with water, not looking at the other man. He had a feeling if he did, then Osamu would further shut down under the pressure of his gaze, become even more obstinate, and that was the last thing he wanted to do when trying to offer help.

Because… because he cared about Osamu, as a person, as a potential brother, as the brother of his boyfriend. He knew that helping the guy out would also help Atsumu out, but also, he just wanted to help Osamu out because he was Osamu.

“If you ever wanna talk or anything,” he began nonchalantly, noting how Osamu was peeking at him out the corner of his own stormy eyes. “Then I’m here to listen or give advice or shit-talk the guy.”

Osamu snorted but there was a hint of humor in, the ghost of a smirk as he brought his water bottle to his lips. Not a denial or refusal and that was probably as good as Shoyo was gonna get so he brought the carafe back to the coffee maker and poured the water in the top.

“Have ya ever _not_ wanted somethin’, but Fate decided ‘fuck ya’ and gave it to ya anyway?”

Ah. This was definitely about Kageyama then.

Shoyo hit the right buttons to get the coffee brewing then turned and leaned back against the counter in much the same way Osamu was doing with the adjacent one several meters away. Except Osamu was staring at his fingers picking at the label of his water bottle rather than Shoyo and if Shoyo didn’t know any better, he would’ve sworn the guy hadn’t even opened his mouth.

Shoyo shuffled over to the table and pulled out the closest chair before plopping down onto it, hand slipping inside his pocket to find the lighter he still carried everywhere. “Yeah. Your brother actually.”

That had Osamu’s eyes raising to him, eyebrow cocked in question even though the light in those gray orbs spoke to a sense of hope that maybe Shoyo understood where he was coming from.

“I didn’t want anything to distract me from taking care of Natsu or giving her my full attention. It’s why I never went to college or tried to get a better job, because this one let me be around her more, take care of her, give her all my free time. And I knew dating would take that away from her, too, that I’d be focusing on someone else. Not to mention I didn’t want her getting heartbroken, too, if I introduced her to a guy I was seeing only for us to break up and he never came around again.”

Osamu nodded, understanding. “Then my stupid asshole brother barged his way in anyway.”

A small laugh escaped Shoyo’s nose as his lips curled at the corners. His chest felt all warm and fuzzy at the thought of Atsumu, of the early days of their relationship. Honestly, it felt weird to think that technically, they were still in those early days, had been together less than a month. They were living together and exchanging “I love you”s and promises of forever like a couple that had been together years rather than days.

But it just felt right and Shoyo had a feeling it was due to the M-bomb Ushijima had dropped on that first day, the M-bomb he’d yet to discuss with Astumu himself.

“It was a combination of things that led to us being together, but part of it was your brother proving he wasn’t going anywhere and that he wasn’t gonna take me away from anyone or anything else.”

“What was the other part?”

“Me realizing there was no point in fighting fate and that maybe part of me had just been waiting for him to show up in the first place.”

Osamu’s face contorted into a grimace of sorts and Shoyo wasn’t sure if it was due to anyone being cheesy over his brother or that his words hadn’t helped or that he’d made a good point and Osamu was pissed about it.

Maybe strangely it was all of it? Or some sorta combo?

Either way, the coffee pot was gurgling as it finished and Shoyo was heading over to grab his mug from where it now lived in the communal cupboard above the maker. 

“‘Tsumu ever tell ya ‘bout our parents?”

Shoyo nodded as he poured some of the hot and tasty into his mug, recalling the convo they’d had when putting Natsu’s stuff up in what had then been her temporary bedroom. “That they were obsessed with each other and forgot about everyone and everything else when around one another.” He returned the carafe to its home then grabbed the canister of sugar, turning to peek at Osamu, who was still staring and picking the bottle label. “He was afraid of turning out like that and I’m guessing you are, too.”

Osamu’s head lifted but rather than looking at Shoyo, he turned to the door. Focusing his hearing, Shoyo picked up the sounds of two heartbeats but only one set of feet. Atsumu must’ve been carrying Natsu.

“Somethin’ like that,” Osamu muttered before pushing away from the counter. He reached the door just as it opened, revealing Atsumu carrying Natsu on his back. He gave his twin a confused look as Osamu passed without a word, face more sullen than usual, and Shoyo noted how Atsumu’s heart dipped.

Sadness. He was getting better at recognizing emotions through heartbeats. For better or worse.

Atsumu turned to where Shoyo still stood by the coffee maker, frown on his face as he gestured behind himself with his thumb. “Everythin’ okay?”

Shoyo shrugged and put on a sad smile. “Nothing some chocolate chip waffles and a couple good convos won’t fix.”

Natsu cheered about waffles as Atsumu gave Shoyo a probing look that he couldn’t handle, forcing him to turn away and focus instead on finishing his coffee. Way too many conversations needed to be had and Shoyo wasn’t quite prepared for any of them.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Honestly, opening the door to find Miwa on the other side shouldn’t have been a surprise. Nor should Mika have been surprised by the plate shoved in her face, featuring a toasted bagel topped with strawberry cream cheese. Also known as her favorite breakfast.

The determined set to Miwa’s eyebrows wasn’t much of a surprise either, nor was the way she pushed herself into Mika’s bedroom regardless of an invitation. The girl was stubborn as hell when she believed she was right or doing the right thing and rather than argue, Mika simply sighed and closed the door over.

Miwa placed the two mugs she carried on one of the nightstands before pointing at the bed in a clearly wordless order. “Sit,” she demanded, hard expression on her face that made it hard for Mika to argue.

So she didn’t bother, simply did as she was told, crawling to the center of her bed and sitting.

Grabbing a nearby tray, Miwa unfolded the legs and placed it over Mika’s lap, plate and one of the mugs on top. Wow. She had even made Mika’s coffee to her liking, the exact shade she always made it that meant she had added the right amount of milk.

“Eat,” Miwa ordered, hands on her hips and no nonsense look on her face. “Then you’re gonna get in the bath while I change your sheets and clean this place up.”

Mika stared with wide eyes, blinking. Her chest clenched at the thoughtfulness exuded, even if she wasn’t entirely in the mood to eat or do any of that other stuff. But… but it was Miwa asking… well, demanding really and logically part of her knew it needed to be done but…

“I don’t--”

“Well, I do,” Miwa interrupted, picking up her own mug of coffee and taking a drink. “I’m not telling you that you can’t grieve or be depressed but I’m gonna make sure that you’re still taking care of basic human needs while you do so, even if it means forcing you and holding your hand the whole time.”

“ _Bitch,_ ” Daishou’s voice cut in and Mika closed her eyes as though that could magically cut off his voice, save her from having to hear the venomous way he spat the derogatory term out.

The bed sank and she reopened them to find… to find Miwa close, cool fingers close to Mika’s own as they sat on the mattress. It would’ve been so easy to slide them closer, to cover that chilly hand, to slot their fingers together and remind herself of how wonderfully they interlocked.

“I’m not gonna act like I know what it’s like to lose a Mate, but I do know what it’s like to lose a loved one. This Clan helped me out during that dark time, especially you. So now I wanna help you find your way, too.”

Miwa slid her hand away, clasped both together on her lap, a sharp pain in her chest. “You’re returning the favor.”

There was an audible swallow, barely heard over Daishou’s asshole chuckle. “I’m--It’s not just for that reason that I’m doing this.”

Miwa lifted her head to find Mika looking at her with a nervous smile, big beautiful blue eyes glittering with… with more than just a desire to repay a debt or return a favor for a friend.

“ _I told you she was in love with you,_ ” Daishou pointed out, appearing behind the other girl. “ _And if you want her to be okay, then you need to turn her away. You and I both know I won’t hesitate to erase a bitch who gets in my way._ ”

Her chest felt even tighter as her eyes dropped to her lap again, as she clenched them shut tight. Still, the image of Daishou behind Miwa had burned itself into her brain, her imagination taking it a step further, picturing him wrapping his hands around her slender neck and squeezing.

He was right. Mika of all people knew that Daishou would never hesitate to harm anyone in order to get what he wanted, including women and kids.

She wondered when he’d become so heartless, if he’d always been that way but she was blind to see it. Or maybe he hid that side of him from her, manipulated her so she didn’t see it, the way he manipulated everyone else around him.

“ _Oh my precious Mika. I would never do that to you. You’re my most prized possession._ ”

She grit her jaw to keep from speaking out loud, to stop herself from screaming out that she wasn’t a possession or a prize, but a living breathing person who had rights as such.

Not that he ever cared about that.

For Daishou, it was all about what he could obtain and she realized in the years since she’d left him that that was all she was: another object in his collection, another luxury item in a house full of them.

She felt ill.

“Meeks?” Soft fingers traveled through her hair and she reopened her eyes, turning to find Daishou glaring down at her… to find Miwa watching her with care and compassion in those wonderful blue eyes.

She shot a defiant glare to her ex before reaching up to take Miwa’s hand in hers, to lace her fingers with the chilled ones of a _Kawa_. “Will you help me wash my hair? I don’t really have a whole lotta energy these days.”

Daishou growled, a feral ugly thing. But Mika easily ignored it, too entranced by the wide beaming grin spreading across Miwa’s face, making her features glow from the inside out. “Anything you want.”

Mika’s heart fluttered at that, inhaling sharply at the implications of all that it meant, at the knowledge that it went just beyond having her hair washed. She wondered if everything with Daishou hadn’t happened, would the two of them be on the way to being something more.

Then she wondered… why should it stop her anyway?

Her eyes flipped up to find Daishou sneering, lip curled back over fanged teeth, his eyes jet black as the _Kukan_ tapped into Power he may very well still possess even in death. It definitely answered her question, yet raised a lot more.

Like how the hell she was gonna get rid of a bastard ex-boyfriend who was haunting her and threatening the girl she was admittedly crushing on.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Ukai-san absolutely reeked of cigarettes.

It was one of the first things Osamu noticed about the man, quickly followed by the bleached hair held back by two black bands, the green Hawaiian style shirt with a row of parrots holding surfboards across the chest, the board shorts, and the flip-flops that all led to the man looking more of a fish outta water than Osamu felt away from the ocean.

But it was the cigarette smell that Osamu focused on as he sat in the tiny office in the back of the _conbini_ , the room reeking of it and making his stomach hurt for multiple reasons, one of which he refused to look at too closely. He’d spent far too much time on that already, barely getting any sleep for the second night in a row.

At least the bags under his eyes matched his own dyed hair. So. That was something, or whatever.

Osamu shifted in his seat as Ukai looked at an application that Osamu had just half-scribbled out, uncaring about how terrible his handwriting was or the fact that as a leftie, he smudged damn near every other line.

Oh well. He had a feeling Ukai-san wasn’t the type to really give a fuck, seeming more interested in tapping his pack of Marlboros against his desk.

Which was proven by the way he tossed the app onto a pile of other papers off to the side, exhaling long and hard before pinning Osamu with a tired look.

“I’m gonna level with you,” he began, unwrapping the plastic from his pack of cigarettes and Osamu had to hold back a disgusted sneer. “The pay here is shit and the work is shit, too.”

Osamu shrugged, deadpan expression on his face. “I’m gonna level with ya, too: don’t give a fuck.”

Honestly, half of him didn’t even wanna show up that morning. He was tempted to take a left instead of a right and head to Kageyama’s apartment again. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that it would make him out to be some pathetic moping mess, which he totally wasn’t.

Well, that, plus knowing Atsumu would just keep calling and calling and if he found out where Osamu had gone instead, he’d never let him live it down and the last Inari damned thing Osamu wanted was to give Atsumu something to lord over him like that.

Ukai-san’s eyebrows raised in surprise then twitched in dismissal. “Alright then. If you don’t care, then fuck it. I’m admittedly a little desperate and I don’t feel like dealing with any shitty little teenagers coming in here and thinking they know better than me.” He tore off the foil from his pack, tossing it under his desk and Osamu hoped like hell there was a trash can under there, practically able to hear his old guardian clicking his tongue in disapproval. “And with Tsukki cutting back his hours and your brother and Hinata making goo-goo eyes at each other all the time, I need someone around who will actually focus on his job.”

“I have no problem punching my brother if it’ll help.”

Ukai-san laughed and Osamu frowned. He wasn’t joking.

Final details were discussed and soon Osamu was being handed an apron, a blank name tag, and a Sharpie. Or rather, those things were being shoved at him as Ukai-san apparently hit his limit between cigarettes. Osamu scribbled his name on the white plastic as his new boss rushed out the back door, cig already between his lips and lighter being ignited.

A disgusted sneer on his face, Osamu left the office and headed into the main part of the store, unsurprised to find Hinata behind the counter and his brother leaning against it, smirking as he said something he probably thought was charming and only Hinata would fall for.

Osamu rolled his eyes as he put his apron on over his head, tying it behind his back before pinning his tag over his left pec.

“Officially hired, huh?” Atsumu called out, now leaning sideways, head turned to aim that cocky smirk Osamu’s way. “Yer welcome.”

Osamu just stared, deadpan. “He made me higher rank than you.”

“Fuck off.”

“Said I need to keep ya in line and make sure you and Hinata don’t spend your entire shift making quote ‘goo-goo eyes at each other’.”

Atsumu glared. Hinata blushed and tried to look busy fiddling with the plastic jar of pens for sale by the register. Osamu let the corner of his lips curl up, victorious.

“You’re a dick,” Atsumu remarked as Osamu drew close and--

Huh. Looked like he wasn’t the only one who got a shit night’s sleep and was sporting some high end baggage under the eyes. Atsumu looked like hell, too.

Osamu frowned at the sight. While Atsumu had outwardly been expressing worry over him in his own unique asshole way, Osamu hadn’t realized he needed to be worried right back. Then again, considering all the shit he’d personally been going through lately…

Not that it was an excuse or acceptable in any way. Atsumu had been fucking _dead_ and obviously it was gonna fuck the guy up and Osamu was a dick for being too blind or self-centered to not realize or notice it. Just because the guy had his Mate now didn’t mean he didn’t still need his brother.

Right?

Osamu’s eyes swung to said Mate, to find Hinata already looking at him with a worried expression of his own. But it wasn’t aimed at Osamu, but rather showing that he noticed Atsumu wasn’t quite right either and that he was just as worried.

And, of course, knowing Atsumu, the asshole was acting like everything was perfectly fine, no need to worry, there is no war in Ba Sing Se, which naturally would just worry everyone even more.

Hinata nodded, resolve in his brown eyes, and Osamu just knew he was gonna get through that hard ass skull of his brother’s. So Osamu simply nodded back and left them to it, but not without punching his brother in the shoulder as he walked away.

And found himself by the rack of chips that said hard ass skull had knocked over that fateful day only a couple weeks ago, when Osamu finally took notice of Kageyama.

Only a couple weeks and he felt irrevocably changed.

He wondered if he’d ever return to normal, wondered if he even wanted to, wondered if it was such a smart idea to work in a place where everything had been touched by the man he was trying to forget.

Wondered if he really did wanna forget him.

Wondered how much of his DNA was tainted.

Glancing back at the front counter, he found his brother utterly wrapped up in Hinata once more, thought of how he still spent time with Osamu and gave attention to Natsu and joked around with the rest of the Clan.

Maybe… he’d been wrong…


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man oh boy oh man...
> 
> Once again love to Ingrid for the wonderful DMs. And I'm gonna send a shout out to my friends in my oskg server for being the most rad people on this the entire planet of earth.
> 
> Next chapter coming in five days, Friday March 19th.
> 
> Until then, please let me know what you think via comment or on Twitter tagging me (@RitchMapp) or the hashtag #SeasCatchFireFic

### CHAPTER SIX

Banging on the bedroom door greeted Tobio once he got out the shower and panic instantly flooded him, making his stomach churn and his skin prickle uncomfortably. He was pretty sure nothing was wrong, that he wasn’t in any sort of trouble. But all he could think about was the last time someone had banged on his door like that, who had been on the other side, and the urge to flee had the muscles in his legs tensing up, coiling, readying to run.

He glanced over at the bedroom window. He could jump out there, onto the roof of the veranda, down again onto the stone slabs, then take off running. It was entirely doable.

“Tobio?” a male voice called out, semi-familiar, and his heart rate continued to climb, more flashbacks hitting him, the memory of another man yelling his name through the door. “Dude, it’s Ryu and Noya. Open up.”

Oh. Right. Those guys.

Tobio looked down at where he wore only a towel wrapped around his waist, hair dripping down from where he’d yet to dry it. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t exactly out to impress anyone with his appearance, never had been.

Well, with one exception, but he was studiously ignoring that little fact.

Opening the door, he found both Ryu and Noya standing there, as announced, both grinning almost maniacally with Noya using Ryu for leverage as he jumped up and down. Tobio absently wondered if it was possible for the guy to actually be _still_ , remembering how he was a flurry of motions even during meal time as the whole Clan sat down to eat together.

Ryu’s eyes dipped down and a frown formed on his face at the lack of attire on Tobio’s body. “You got five minutes to get dressed and get downstairs, man.”

Tobio glanced back and forth between the two of them, his own brow furrowing in confusion. “Why?”

“Bros Day!” Noya excitedly announced, throwing his arms in the air before howling, Ryu joining in.

Tobio took a step back, eyes wide… terrified…

The fuck was a “Bros Day”?

“Dude, c’mon,” Ryu urged, smacking the back of his hand against Tobio’s chest. “You are in serious need of some dude hanging out, as well as some new gear, and we, as your _senpais_ , are all set to provide.”

Right. Ryu had declared himself as Tobio’s _senpai_ pretty much upon meeting the day before and Tobio had felt too awkward to argue or turn him down or some other shit like that. And now that he was staying under the guy’s roof, he had a feeling that turning him down now would not only be fucking rude, but may even result in him being kicked out.

Which wouldn’t be the end of the world, he knew that much. He could always just head back to Sendai, meet back up with Osamu, crash with him. Or he could travel elsewhere, hit up some city he’d yet to stay in.

Then again, considering the threat of _him_ still out there… there was definitely something to be said about staying with a large group, one that was more than capable of protecting him.

His palms felt hot. He didn’t think he was weak and he most definitely wasn’t the type to rely on others, especially relative strangers, but… but he was weak when compared to others and he had seen what kind of strength lay in numbers with the raid on Daishou’s place. It was better to stick with the safety of a group.

And since staying with Osamu would lead to all sorts of shit Tobio wasn’t willing to look into or deal with, the best option for him was clearly not pissing off the Mate of the Leader of his current crash-pad.

Not to mention staying here also gave him the opportunity to get to know his sister once more.

He gave a simple nod to the two men standing in the hall, Ryu stating they’ll be waiting out front, then Tobio shut the door and went over to the closet. It hit him how this was totally different than his original plan after he’d formed that deal with Daishou. He was just gonna come here, make sure his sister was alive and okay, then move the fuck on after a day--if that long. But now… now he’d actually unpacked his shit and was off to have a “Bros Day” with the only other men of the Clan and was making sure he didn’t piss anyone off so he could stay longer.

Funny how shit turned out really. He’d spent so long avoiding shit like this, forming connections and relationships, yet over the past couple weeks, he’d seemingly done nothing but that very thing.

Dumb of him really.

Whatever. Didn't have to be permanent. None of this shit did.

Shoving it all aside, Tobio got dressed in the jeans he'd cut into knee-length shorts, a faded tee he'd admittedly stolen out if someone's unwatched dryer at a laundromat a few months back, and a pair of socks he was pretty sure he'd gotten when he stayed at a shelter for a while. There was a hole in one and he had to be careful to not let his pinky toe slip out and get stuck.

He finger-combed his hair and considered himself done, knowing his naturally high body heat would dry the wet locks sooner rather than later. His phone sat on the nightstand, still plugged up to its charger and… he unplugged and stuck it in his pocket.

He didn't think Osamu would call or text, not after waking up to find nothing there and experiencing a strange sense of disappointment and emptiness at the sight. But still, he didn't… fuck, he didn't wanna risk missing anything and he felt fucking stupid for it.

Fuck, fuck, shit, fuck.

Tobio found Ryu and Noya out front as they said they would be, waiting by a silver SUV that he hadn't been expecting.

"No pick-up?" he found himself asking, drawing their attention.

"Nah!" Ryu replied, grinning as he opened the driver's side door, Noya opening the one right behind it. "Wasn't my truck. I'm watching it for a buddy and it needed a run to keep it in shape."

Tobio nodded, figuring it was as much an explanation as anything.

"All set?"

He started to nod again, only to realize… "Should I tell Miwa where I'm going?"

Probably should've figured that out earlier. Like before he came downstairs. Now he was gonna hafta climb back up.

"We can text her," Ryu suggested, grin gone, voice somber in a similar way to how it had been during their talk in his bedroom the previous afternoon.

Tobio frowned. He was missing something here.

Ryu and Noya exchanged a look, the latter shrugging where the upper half of his body was hanging out the back window, sunglasses on. Ryu let out a sigh and scrubbed a hand over his buzzed hair. "She's with Mika. Best to leave them alone."

Okay, now he was nodding, even as the guilt ate at his gut.

No. Fuck that and fuck Daishou. Tobio didn't regret any of that shit. Only thing he'd ever feel bad about was not telling Osamu about that deal sooner. But it's not like he could've known the guy was also a Kitsune, one who was fighting against Daishou and why he was protecting what the asshole was after so really, even if he somehow _could_ redo shit, Tobio would do it all exactly the same.

Meaning there was no need for any of that guilt shit. It had no place here.

"You alright, man?"

Tobio snapped out of his thought spiral to find both other men staring at him, curious and worried expressions on both their faces.

He nodded once again, shrugged it all off. "Hungry."

Ryu grinned wide. "I got the greasiest remedy for that. Hop in and I'll take you to the best little joint in this part of Tokyo."

"Fuck yeah!" Noya cheered, drumming his hands on the side of the suv.

And… yeah, Tobio could echo that sentiment. Mentally at least. Greasy breakfast sounded damn good, his stomach chiming in with its own agreement.

Rounding the front of the car, Tobio got in the passenger seat as Ryu got behind the wheel, starting the car up with the push of a button. The interior smelled of what Tobio imagined all those artificial "mountain fresh" products were supposed to smell of: crisp air, rocks, trees, and a lightness that only came from being outside at a high altitude. It made it all the more obvious that this truly was Ryu's main vehicle, that the pick-up and its cold metallic scent wasn't.

Not that it mattered really. A car was a car and as long as it got one to where they wanted to go…

He suddenly flashed-back to when he'd dissed Osamu's Toyota sedan and how the guy had so staunchly defended it using that very reasoning. Looking around at the flashy interior, the touchscreen panel and the leather seats with built in a/c and the state of the art everything, Tobio figured this would be more of the type of car a trust fund kid would drive.

Then again, Osamu wasn't quite a trust fund kid, was he? Chances were he and his brother had inherited whatever his parents had accumulated over however long they'd been alive.

Not that he could be pissed over the fallacy. Osamu hadn't known about Tobio's true nature either. He couldn't explain or admit to anything any more than Tobio could have with all the Daishou bullshit.

The SUV smoothly made its way along the extended driveway towards the treeline and Tobio clutched at the door handle as they passed through the Illusion that kept them hidden. But the action didn’t go unnoticed, catching Ryu’s eyes glancing down at his white knuckles, and he fought tense fingers to release his grip before shoving both hands under his legs.

“He had one like that, didn’t he?” Ryu said flatly and it wouldn’t take a genius to know who “he” was, not after their conversation the previous day.

“His was worse,” Tobio admitted, swallowing back nausea at the memory as he stared straight out the front window at the suburban they drove through.

“Shit.”

He let out an agreeing hum.

“Whose was worse?” Noya butted in from where he sat way too far forward in the center of the back row of seats, as close to being in the front as possible without actually being in the front. He had a hand on each front chair, his head whipping back and forth between the two of them, sunglasses still on his face but his eyebrows raised in curiosity and nosiness.

Tobio deferred to Ryu, figuring it was safer, better. He was the Leader’s Mate and the one who had said they hid certain things from the rest of the Clan to not arouse any sort of fear or panic or hurt in Mika’s case. Ryu simply adjusted his grip on the top of the steering wheel and shrugged.

“Need to know.”

Noya groaned, head falling onto the back of Ryu’s chair. “Dude, don’t get all _Shugosha_ on me. We left that shit behind decades ago.”

Ryu grinned, ridiculous canines on display as he laughed, clearly amused at his friend’s despair. Tobio looked back and forth between the two, trying to imagine the loudmouth wild-man Ryu and the overly energetic Noya with his bleached bangs in the _Shugoshas_. The last place Tobio would expect either of them to be was a rigid service like that.

“You guys were _Shugoshas_?”

Ryu snorted, almost offended. Noya grinned, chest puffed out with pride.

“Yes,” Ryu scoffed again. “We both did two tours. It’s how we met.” He gestured between himself and Noya with his thumb before holding his fist up, the shorter man bumping it with his own immediately.

Tobio glanced back and forth between the two of them again, remembering what his dad had said about the _Shugoshas_ , how a tour lasted fifty years. Two tours meant they’d volunteered to join for a second one and chances were they’d been offered a third. Kinda made him wonder why they’d turned it down.

Ryu grinned that toothy grin of his, eyes glittering at Tobio. “You’re wondering why we quit, huh?”

Shit.

Yeah.

He nodded.

Ryu chuckled to himself and Noya beamed, slapping Tobio’s shoulder repeatedly. “True love, my man!” Noya replied, loud and right in Tobio’s ear, making him grimace. “True fucking love.” He threw his head back and howled and Ryu immediately joined in while also somehow managing to keep an eye on the road. It was both loud as fuck and impressive as fuck.

The howling died down as they entered a more business like block and Ryu pulled the car over to park along the side of the road. The diner he led them to was a few storefronts down, a blast of cold air hitting them as they stepped inside. Tobio was assaulted by the scents of various cooking, rice and spices and warmth that had his nose going crazy as he tried to sort through it all.

So he didn’t bother.

Instead, he followed the two other men over to a booth, sliding in one side as the two Clan-mates took the other. Ryu spread out as he had on the couch, arms on the back of the booth and legs more than likely splayed wide beneath the table. Noya sat on his curled up legs, forearms braced on the table as leaned forward, half his body weight practically on the chipped formica and pressboard structure.

“This place is fucking fantastic,” Ryu said, grinning again. “They give a shitload of food that’s actually filling, even to guys like us, and it’s at a good price, too.”

Tobio nodded, looking at the menu and trying to remember what all he still had in his wallet. Being on the run meant no savings account, no banks, nothing that could be traced back to him so all his paychecks were cashed immediately and stashed somewhere in whatever hovel he was staying in at the time. But after having to buy his ticket to Tokyo, his cash was depleted, all now in his wallet.

Which admittedly wasn’t a whole helluva lot.

Shit. He needed to stick to something cheap, especially if he was gonna be paying for shit later on.

“Hey.”

A foot nudged against his and he raised his head to take in Ryu’s uncharacteristically serious face. “No need to worry about paying, alright? We’ve got more than enough to cover you. Our Clan always takes care of our own and right now, that includes you.”

Tobio swallowed hard at the implication, at the way it had been worded. Tobio was temporary. He wasn’t a permanent fixture. And there was no pressure or expectation to become one.

He hated that he felt relieved.

He hated that he thought of Ushijima, outside of Atsumu’s bedroom, extending an invitation to join his Clan and making it clear the offer stood forever. Tobio could head right back to Sendai that very second and be accepted, or he could wait so many centuries that Ushijima was now on his deathbed and he’d still be welcomed.

Not that he’d wait that long.

He still had no clue what the fuck he was doing or when or how or any of that shit. He had no clue what the fuck he wanted. But he knew he wasn’t gonna keep Osamu waiting for him for that long. If nothing else, he’d give him some sorta answer or explanation, let his intentions regarding them be clear.

As soon as he figured them out.

For now, he was gonna take advantage of the generosity being provided to him by Ryu and eat twice his weight in grub.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Miwa could do this. It was perfectly fine. It wasn't like she'd never washed Mika's hair before. Hell, she'd washed the hair of every resident in the house, dyed it for some, added highlights, trimmed split ends, all that jazz. She helped keep Mika's bangs out of her eyes every month and a half like clockwork.

And on top of that, Miwa had also seen the other girls naked at one time or another, including Mika.

And, okay, yes, admittedly, it most definitely affected her differently when it was Mika. Her heart pounded wildly and her stomach flipped and her breathing grew shaky… And, also admittedly, her eyes were more likely to stray when it was Mika and the memory of her tan skin bared and unashamed--which why should she be, she was gorgeous and perfect in every way--was burned into Miwa's brain and called upon during more intimate moments, fingers slipping inside of herself as she grew wet from picturing it, imagining Miwa was touching her…

Oh Inari help her, she should _not_ be thinking of all that, Miwa mentally chastised herself as she tested the temp of the water filling the tub and adjusted it. Her friend--because that's all Mika was to her, a _friend_ \--was grieving, was in a lot of pain, was experiencing a soul deep sense of loss that only one who had lost a Mate would ever be able to understand or relate to. It was _not_ the time to be having inappropriate thoughts over how hot and gorgeous she was and how badly Miwa wanted to drop to her knees in worship and--

Nope! She had just decided she wasn't going there.

Fabric rustled behind her and Miwa refused to turn around from where she was seated on the edge of the tub, ignoring the heat licking up her spine. She didn't need to see the object of her unrequited lust taking her clothes off, even for something as innocent as bathing for the first time in days.

A tired sigh followed fabric hitting the floor and Miwa swallowed hard before peeking over her shoulder and…

And oh dear Inari help her please because Mika was topless, full breasts on display and Miwa was far too weak to resist the urge to bury her face between them or latch on to a nipple or…

She forced her eyes up… to find Mika looking far too tired, blinking sleepily, bags under eyes. Her body language overall reeked of fatigue, arms dangling from slumped shoulders, head falling to the side.

"Are you gonna manage to wash, Meeks?" Miwa asked, hoping the crack in her voice would be taken as concern and not anything inappropriate considering where her eyes kept dipping despite herself.

She was going straight to Hell.

A mirthless laugh burst from the brunette and she shoved her limp hair back from her face, unwashed oil making it stay. "I honestly don't know. I feel exhausted just taking my shirt off."

Miwa refused to call out for Inari's help any more than she already had. It was obvious the deity wanted her to suffer.

"Do--do you want me to help?"

Mika sighed and looked at her with tired, pleading eyes. "Please."

Checking the water once more, Miwa pulled the plug to let the tub fill then rose up on shaky legs. She felt stiff in her attempts to hide her nerves and chances were if Mika had been in better mental shape, she would've immediately noticed how abnormal she was looking in her failed attempts to appear normal.

But luckily, Mika was, in fact, out of it and made no mention of Miwa's weird walking or how stiffly she moved to kneel before her or how her hands shook as she curled her fingers in the elastic waistband of her sweats to tug them down.

Oh _fuck_ , Mika wasn't wearing any panties and despite the stubble covering her unshaven legs, her pubic mound was entirely hairless, perfectly bare.

Miwa's mouth flooded with saliva despite feeling so very parched and she forced herself to drop her gaze before she did something dumb like lean forward and…

Nope!

Slim hands curled over her shoulders for support, skin cool even through Miwa's tee, and she suppressed a shiver, suppressed the urge to cover those hands with her own and try to warm them with her own chilly flesh. Instead she carefully slipped the sweats over slender feet, careful not to let Miwa tip over or tickle her soles or anything. Sweats off, Miwa rose to her feet, brushing the hair back from Mika's face. She was shorter by a good sixteen centimeters, forehead the same height as Miwa's lips and now she was forced to resist the urge to lean forward and kiss there…

"This might be a bad idea," she murmured absently, unaware she'd said it out loud until Mika inhaled sharply.

Oops!

Miwa's eyes widened and her cheeks grew warm from embarrassment. "Sorry. I'm so sorry," she rushed out. "I really do wanna help you out. Trust me, there's nothing I want more, but." She paused, lump in her throat hiding the rest.

But Mika was blinking up at her with big brown eyes, ordinarily soft lips now chapped and fallen into a pout.

"I don't trust myself and you don't need that from anyone right now."

Those beautiful, slender fingers reached out, wrapped around both of Miwa's, eliciting a shiver that raced up her spine and created a buzz in the back of her head. The lump in her throat grew bigger, threatening to cut off her airway entirely. She genuinely felt as though she was gonna vibrate out of her skin, lungs shuddering in her too tight chest.

"I--"

"I know," Mika said softly and now Miwa was inhaling sharply, surprised and scared.

Terrified really.

Oh she'd fucked up. She'd known she was more than likely way too obvious with her feelings. Hard to hide the way your heart skips beats then takes off twice as fast when the person causing that reaction was a Kitsune who could hear it. Honestly, she was surprised she hadn't been called out on it sooner and she could only imagine the conversations happening between her Clan-mates behind her back.

Her eyes shut tight as she willed the floor to open up and pull her under, bury her far down deep in the earth. Maybe she could ask Saeko to do just that, have the _Chikyu_ dig her a deep hole. Or maybe her _Yama_ brother or Kanoka with her same Powers as Ryu, either one of them could bury her in a landslide. That would be fucking fantastic.

Not that they would, no matter how much she begged and pleaded. No, her best bet would be to tuck tail, run, and hide in her room for the next millenia.

She went to slide her hands free, only for Mika to tighten her hold, not allowing her to slip free or escape.

Ah. This was her punishment for peeking, wasn't it?

Hell showed up earlier than anticipated.

Or maybe she was being a tiny bit overdramatic. It was entirely possible.

Mika inhaled deep, exhaled shakily, looked down at their joined hands as she held them between their bodies and Miwa held her own breath, stared only at the doorway behind Mika.

“I,” Mika began and Miwa shut her eyes tight to brace herself for the rejection, for the comments of being flattered but uninterested in being more than just friends. It was okay. She’d been preparing for that for years.

“You’re right in that I can’t handle that right now,” Mika began.

Miwa’s eyes stung. She clenched them tighter and willed her hands to stop trembling.

Or was that Mika’s? It was hard to tell.

“But one day, I want to.”

Miwa’s heart stopped.

Her eyes burst open in surprise and dropped down to the petite girl before her, looking up at her with tired eyes that still held a sparkle of hope and a tremulous smile. Her heart was beating fast, yet steady, meaning there was no lie to be found.

“I have a lot to deal with right now,” Mika went on, snorting humorlessly. “And I’ll fully admit I am a fucking mess right now and I have no idea how I feel about a lot of things, but. One day.” She squeezed Miwa’s hands and it felt like a promise and Miwa knew she was never gonna forget this moment for the rest of her life.

“For now, maybe we should cut off the water.”

Her eyes went wide again as she swore loudly and it was only the risk of flooding the floor that had her letting go of Mika’s hands to rush over to turn the faucets off. But Mika was laughing, a melodious tinkling thing that had Miwa falling in love all over again and despite the embarrassment making her cheeks feel like coals on a fire, Miwa couldn’t regret anything.

The spark was returning to Mika.

Or… at least she thought it had been.

Turning back, she found Miwa staring over at the lounger she had, the light gone from her eyes, her arms folded over her body to hide herself, once again looking like the haunted shell that she previously had been.

Miwa glared over at the empty seat, wondering if Daishou really was haunting, soiling this moment between the two of them.

Then she wondered if there was some way to destroy the asshole so he could stop destroying Mika’s life and let her finally find peace and happiness.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Daishou was practically growling and Mika was doing everything in her power to ignore it, focusing instead on the way Miwa’s long fingers massaged her scalp in wonderful circles as she scrubbed the shampoo in. She always was fantastic with that, shooting tingles all over Mika’s skin and relaxing her in a way she hadn’t felt in days, since she received the news about Daishou.

Combined with the heated atmosphere of what had been confessed, the fact that she was naked, and the fact that she honestly hadn’t been touched beyond this for over a decade and a half… everything felt more electric than usual, her body warm and loose while also tense and needy. She squeezed her thighs together against the way her core was throbbing, resisting the urge to slip her hands down, to ask Miwa to slide her hands down.

Bad enough she was already struggling to hold back any sounds, teeth sinking into her bottom lip to keep a reign on them, lest she give Miwa the wrong idea.

She hadn’t lied when she said she knew and that if the situation were different, yes, absolutely, she’d probably have no problem begging the younger girl to touch her in her most intimate area, let them both give in to what was steadily building between them.

Then again, had the situation been different and Mika wasn’t feeling too fragile for anything after the world rocking event of Daishou’s death, then they probably wouldn’t be in their current situation where Miwa was helping her bathe. She wouldn’t be feeling completely out of it and experiencing a mental exhaustion so heavy it was making her physically exhausted, too. Meaning there’d be no charged atmosphere and Mika would honestly continue to act oblivious to Miwa’s crush as they went about life in their usual way.

Still. She liked to think something would’ve further developed between her and Miwa. She refused to be celibete for the rest of her life and also equally refused to ever get back with Daishou, meaning her only option was to move on, be with someone else. And considering the mutual feelings between her and Miwa, the mutual attraction, it made sense that they would, at some point, get together.

Only now… now it seemed as though that plan had come to a screeching halt. Mika could barely take care of herself and was in no shape to be the kind of partner Miwa deserved, and that was before adding in the fact that her ex’s spirit was still hanging around, preventing her from moving on the way she so desperately wanted, the way she so very much already had.

Seemed as though Daishou wasn’t, in fact, done ruling her life.

“I’m gonna rinse,” Miwa said softly as she grabbed the retractable shower head and Mika leaned her head back to keep the shampoo from running into her eyes as it was washed away.

The warm water cascaded down her back, unfurling her hair where it had been twisted atop her head and she let out a sigh as she felt the grease and dirt that had accumulated wash away and fall down the drain. It was amazing how just a simple hair wash could make her feel like a living being again and not a mass of grease and depression.

“I needed this,” she murmured, hearing Miwa snort softly.

“Yes, you did.” She moved the shower head so the water pounded against her back in a massaging rhythm and Mika’s head fell forward this time as she curled up, relishing the feel of it, pulsating in all the right places to not only wash away everything holding her back but also knock away the tension strangling her muscles.

Her eyes lifted and she peeked through the curtain of wet hair hanging around her head, finding Daishou sneering in obvious disapproval. If only he was as easy to get rid of.

And as Miwa began scrubbing Mika’s back with her favorite pink loofah, Mika decided then and there that she was ready to fully let him go, get rid of him. She just needed to figure out a way how.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Stocking shelves wasn’t rocket science and Osamu found himself falling into the mindless rhythm of it all. If anything, shit was _too_ mindless and he found himself spacing out, bored, wondering if it was really necessary to have all three of them working at once on what was apparently a slow day.

Even when Hinata and Atsumu were at their most disgusting levels of shmoop and caught up in only each other, they’d break away from each other when the bell over the door jangled, Hinata slipping into customer service mode so easily it was almost scary.

Also scary how he seemed to know a lot of the little old aunties who came in, greeting them by name and making small talk about grandkids and cats and gardens.

Osamu grimaced. Fuck. He was gonna have to do that shit, wasn’t he?

Atsumu was fine with it, able to charm damn near anyone, his social skills only ever failing when it had come to Hinata but clearly that hurdle had been cleared and he was perfectly fine. So smiling and schmoozing and all that gross shit was no problem for the blond, which just pissed Osamu off more, hearing him laugh when some wrinkly old bat complimented on what a fine looking young gentleman he was. Hell, the asshole managed to take it a step further and even offered to carry one woman’s groceries home for her, while also offering his arm for her to support herself on when needed.

Double fucking gross.

Aaaand speaking of gross, Osamu sneered at the prepackaged onigiri he was rotating on the shelves, wondering who made this shit, where it came from, how fresh it truly was.

Then his stomach chimed in.

Okay, admittedly he was hungry enough to eat one of these pieces of shit, but that didn’t mean much and he wouldn’t be happy about it. He had standards, Inari dammit, and this met, like, maybe one in that it was edible.

Footsteps padded their way closer and he turned to find Hinata making his way closer, a pensive look on his face. Shit.

“This about ‘Tsumu?” he questioned as he turned back to his work, wondering what the policy was on eating in the store while on shift and could he just help himself to whatever, have it docked from his pay later on.

Hinata let out a small laugh as he leaned against the wall at the end of the fridge section, hand shoved in the pocket of his pants and curling into a fist. “I was gonna ask if you have any tips for trying to get him to open up and talk about whatever’s going on with him.”

A mirthless snort left Osamu as he checked the date on a salmon roll. “Usually I just put the asshole in a headlock or punch him ‘til he talks, but I’m thinking that ain’t gonna work for ya.”

The frown said as much as the “no” he actually voiced. “But you agree there’s something wrong, right?”

Putting the onigiri back, Osamu let out a sigh, mind going over what little he’d seen of his twin the past few days. Which… kinda made sense. Atsumu was off starting his happily ever after with his Mate and Osamu was in the middle of his whatever the hell he had with Kageyama and the entire Clan was dealing with the aftermath of that shit with Daishou in various ways.

Or not dealing, probably, in Atsumu’s case. Chances were the fucker was acting as though nothing was wrong, nothing happened, he was totally fine.

Which meant everything was wrong, something definitely happened, he was totally fucked up.

“Yeah,” he admitted, scrubbing the back of his neck. “But he ain’t gonna admit to it.”

“Crap.”

That was one way of putting it.

He let out a sigh as he turned to face his future brother-in-law--because that’s what he was, even if neither had actually formally proposed yet, it was just a matter of time--folding his arms over his chest and pinning Hinata in place with a hard look.

“Atsumu is a stubborn asshole with a bad habit of acting like everything is copacetic when it’s not and while ordinarily I’d say ‘fuck that guy, let him stew, he’ll come to ya when he’s ready to actually admit to shit’, but.” He paused, turning his head to the side, to the counter where he’d spotted Atsumu loitering earlier, where he’d noticed the bags under his eyes and the tension around them. “I think--I _know_ that if you were the one to talk to him about this shit, then he’d admit to it and you can both fix it.”

Hinata's lips twisted into a thoughtful pout but he at least looked like he was considering it, even if he wasn't entirely convinced.

Right. Apparently they hadn't had the Mate talk either. Damn, and Osamu had thought _he_ was bad with communication.

Then again, considering the whirlwind of bullshit they'd gone through the first couple weeks of their relationship, it wasn't much of a surprise they hadn't had those serious convos yet. Hell, it was a surprise they'd managed to get together in the first place.

Hinata suddenly popped up, turning to the front of the store and Osamu followed his line of sight to find Atsumu heading past the wall of windows, peeking in and smiling wide at Hinata as he sped up.

Alright, maybe not a surprise they hooked up.

Honestly, what _would_ be a surprise would be if he and Kageyama got over their own shit and hooked up…

A surprise and a miracle rolled into one, he mentally snorted, turning back to the onigiris. Osamu was pretty sure he wasn't about to get either one of those.

⊱ ──────ஓ๑⛩️๑ஓ ────── ⊰

Slamming bodies into walls never got old. The thud they made upon impact. The "oof" cried out and the wheeze as the air was knocked out of them. The way their eyes went fuzzy for a moment if he aimed it just right and managed to smack their head, too. He didn't this time, though. He needed this fool to be cognizant and aware and speak.

Said fool however did wheeze and thud and stare wide-eyed with his heart pounding. Yaketsuku Kaji just smirked at the man whose shirt he still gripped, relishing the fear shown in the way he shuddered.

"I swear I don't know anything!"

Ah, there it was. The little uptick in his already wild heartbeat and Kaji's smirk turned feral, lips peeling back to reveal sharp canines he allowed to lengthen further into fangs.

"Now, now. We both know that's a lie."

A sigh came from the head of the alleyway where his subordinate was casting an Illusion over them. Apparently Kurogane was growing bored of this routine, as often as it took place. The two of them would corner their little informant, he'd claim he knew nothing until Kaji threatened him enough to make him break and spill all.

Really was a waste of all their time for the little pup to put them through this repeatedly, but Kaji had always been a fan of violence. It often got him exactly what he was after.

With one exception, of course.

And this little shit wasn't about to be the second.

Flicking his blond hair off his forehead, Kaji smirked at the shivering kit still pushed against the wall, his vision sharpening as the usual brown hue switched to a bright burning orange. He raised his free hand to show off the glow as heat encompassed it and it would be nothing to call forth the flames that resided within him, to burn this sniveling fool until he was ash.

"Alright! Alright!" he wisely relented, eyeing the glowing hand and swallowing hard. "But it's speculation, I don't know if it's for sure."

Kaji lowered his hand, head tilting in curiosity. "But you _do_ know _something_ apparently."

His informant nodded vehemently and swallowed hard. "You hear about Daishou Suguru biting the dust?"

Kurogane scoffed and Kaji was tempted to do the same.

"Can't say I have," he admitted. The affairs of other Clans rarely caught his attention unless it involved what he was after. "Can't say I'm surprised either."

"No one is," the informant pointed out, squirming under the hold. "My contact at the _Shugoshas_ says Ushijima Wakatoshi and his Clan took the guy out."

Ushijima was definitely one that Kaji had heard about over the centuries, his story somewhat well-known--or at least the rumors of his story. Which made it very interesting to hear that he'd actually been in a fight after having given it all up nearly seven-hundred years ago.

"I fail to see what this has to do with me."

"Daishou's Clan got taken in alive and a bunch of 'em squealed like pigs," his informant went on. "One of 'em talked about a kid he fought, black hair, blue eyes, _blue flames_."

And there it was.

Kaji's eyebrows raised as his heart paused a moment to let his mind process the information. There was only one person who matched that description and he'd been searching for him for six years now.

"You're absolutely sure that's what he said?" he demanded to know through gritted teeth, grip on his informant's shirt tightening.

"Positive! Blue flames isn't something anyone is liable to forget. Not exactly common."

Kaji released him with one final shove against the wall. "Congrats. You may live another day."

And like a well trained pup, the informant took the cue and scurried off, giving Kurogane as wide a berth as possible out the narrow mouth of the alley.

Shoes scuffed as Kurogane casually made his way over, pulling out a pack of smokes from the pocket of his suit coat and pulling a cig out with his teeth before offering the pack to his Leader. "Ushijima Wakatoshi, huh? Rumor has it he's got a full house."

Kaji snatched the pack and took out a cig for himself. He'd heard the rumor himself, except that the Nine-Tailed _Seishin_ was missing a _Kasai_.

Or, at least, he _had_ been missing one.

"What's the plan now, boss?"

He gave the pack back and held the cig between his lips. "We let our little friend verify his info, as I'm sure he's pissing himself to do. Then we track down Ushijima and see for ourselves just how full his Clan is." He snapped his fingers, igniting a blue flame on his thumb that he used to light his smoke. 

There was a buzzing in his head and his chest that had nothing to do with the nicotine and everything to do with how close he was getting to finding his target.

"Who knew Tobio had made friends in such high places?" he remarked absently, blowing the smoke out and watching it curl over his head, not unlike the way he'd watched it that night as he'd burned that house to the ground.


End file.
